The Ultimatum on Your Born Identity
"Listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you. I remember. I remember everything."
- Jason Bourne
I'll admit that there are mornings I wake up and I'm not exactly sure who I am, but then a double shot Americano from Starbucks and a conversation with my wife jogs my memory back into shape.
Not so with Jason Bourne. There's not enough caffeine or conversations in the world to help this guy connect the dots from his sordid and shameful past…
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And that makes Jason unhappy. Thing is, you don't want to make Jason unhappy. He may not know his real name, but he knows how to combine karate and ka-razy in a Chuck Norris meets illegal energy drink sort of way.
In fact, "The Bourne Ultimatum" is a lot like a cinematic equivalent of Red Bull, Venom, and 180 put to a plot. Seriously, they should put a warning label on this film for pregnant women and those with heart conditions, because we're talking about 114 minutes of thrills, chills and spills that will leave you in a state of collective B.O. with the rest of the theater.
Come to think of it, not knowing who you are would put anyone in a sad state, because discovering the truth about our born identity is the key to living life the way it's supposed to be lived.
Unfortunately, though, there are many folks out there who have been served up a load of hooey when it comes to this topic. So let's set the record straight – and we can put an end to the mental and emotional chase scenes we often engage in trying to discover our identity.
First, let's talk about who you are NOT. You are not a product of random chance. You are not a powerless victim or a slave to your past. You are not an accident and you are definitely not a worthless waste of carbon footprints.
The question of "who am I" can really be answered by rephrasing the wording to this:
"whose am I?"
In other words, we can trace our worth and value back to the One who ultimately made us and considers us so valuable that He became one of us and gave His life for everyone on the planet. Here's an amazing description of what I'm talking about:
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! (Psalm 139:13-18)
This is why you are not a product of random chance, because God handcrafted you in your mother's womb and wrote the book about your life before you were even a plan in your parent's palm pilot!
You know what else? This is also why you aren't a powerless victim or slave to your past.
God's "precious thoughts" towards us was the driving force behind Jesus' death on the Cross. Maybe you've seen this before – but it really sums it up:
I asked Jesus how much He loved me
He answered…"this much"
Then He stretched out His arms and died for me.
When you trust Christ as your Savior, that's exactly what he does. He saves you from your guilty past and sets you free to live the life He intended you to live. A life that rejects the popular wave of trivial pursuit and empty pleasures. A life that sees every day as a chance to be loved by God and used by Him to be Jesus in your little corner of the world.
Who am I? A handmade creation from the Creator of the universe, so loved by Him that He chose to die rather than live without me. And here's what He is saying to you right now:
"Listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you. I love you. I love you forever."
- Jesus Christ
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Lane Palmer is the Youth Ministries Specialist for Dare 2 Share Ministries in Arvada, Colo., where he works with to provide resources for youth leaders and students. Dare 2 Share exists to energize and equip teens to know, live, share and own their faith in Jesus. For more information on Dare 2 Share Ministries or the GameDay youth conference tour, please visit www.dare2share.org. Send feedback to lane@dare2share.org.
