28. Identity

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matthew 16:24-25.

When a man is all wrapped in himself he makes a pretty small package. > John Ruskin.

Jesus Christ never met an unimportant person. That is why God sent his Son to die for us. If someone dies for you, you must be important. > M. C. Cleveland.

If you have anything really valuable to contriute to the world it will come through the expression of your own personality, that single spark of divinity that sets you off and makes you different from every other living creature. > Bruce Barton.

Here is Christian identity: I know my past, where I came from. I came from God. I know what went wrong. I tried to play God instead of being satisfied to be a real man. I know my future. My destiny is Christ. And I know the present. I can face myself now – my problems, my hang-ups, my assets, my faults – because I have turned myself over to God. > Leighton ford.

Modern youth alternates between abysmal hang-ups and fanatical commitments. Psychologists call their malady an “identity crisis”. Its chief symptom is the cry: “Who am I?” To them I say, “Have a confrontation with yourself. Then have a confrontation with Jesus Christ.” > Billy Graham.

He who falls in love with himself will have few rivals. > Benjamin Franklin.

We’re not lost, we are here. we just don’t know where “here” is. > Winnie the Pooh.

I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, that character of an honest man. > George Washington.

Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself. > Leo Tolstoy.

Many could forgo heavy metals, a full wardrobe, a fine house; it is the ego that they cannot forgo. > Mahatma Gandhi.

See also John 12:43; Romans 2:7-8; 5:7-9; Philippians 2:1-8.