Dear Friend,

The answer to the question “Who am I?” is probably the most sought-after answer by every teenager (and probably every adult, too).

I used to think I knew the answer to that question, whenever the topic of identity came up in Bible study or Sunday School.

“Why, that’s easy,” I’d think to myself. “I’m a child of God!”

Which isn’t a wrong answer. I am a child of God.

What I didn’t realize until coming to The Company last autumn, was that I didn’t understand what that entailed. I lived and acted like I had to earn God’s favor by doing things the right way and not making mistakes (though I wouldn’t have told you that’s what I believed). I felt like even if I did everything perfect, God just tolerated my presence.

That was a problem.

Nobody’s perfect. It’s a cliché thing to say, I know. But it’s important to this next bit.

Nothing I can do will earn me God’s pleasure. The only thing I have going for me, is my faith in Jesus. And that is one massive only.

Because of that only, the reverse is also true.

Nothing I can do will earn me God’s ire. No mess I make (whether I stain his table with fingerpaints, draw with markers on his walls, or break his favorite vase) is so bad that he’ll say, “That’s it! You’re out! I don’t love you anymore!”

My identity is God’s beloved creation.

God created me (and you!) beautifully and wonderfully. (Psalm 139:13-14)

We get the privilege of intimately knowing and being known by the most creative person in the universe. I don’t know about you, but that is super cool to me.

The Creator of the universe likes knowing you. He likes every little detail about you that he created. He knows how you think. And he knows exactly when and how you should use your creativity to be the most effective and most fulfilling.

Take joy in knowing the Creator and being known by him.

Sincerely,

R. J. Catlin