That’s complicated. I’m a husband, a son, a brother, a father, an uncle, a nephew, a neighbor, a grandpa, a church member, a pastor, a friend, a citizen, and probably a few other things—no wonder I’m tired! Identity is a big deal these days. In spite of the many roles we have, people want to be recognized for something else or something more, even if it is rather bizarre. Here’s another reason I don’t believe in evolution; I don’t think this desire to understand who we are is the result of time plus chance. I believe our desire for identity is planted in us at conception. Understanding who we are is part of what God is doing to draw us to Himself. Apart from Christ, we all know deep down inside of us that something is “off.” We feel out of place, misunderstood and alone. There are all sorts of ways to deal with these longings and some are very unhealthy! Deep down in our core, in our soul, we want to be loved, accepted, desired and cared for. What if this is a magnet drawing us to God? We want a Father who will claim us, a Lover who will have us, a Community in which we belong. We want to be “in” somewhere! God so badly wants to meet this longing for us that when we believe, we are immersed into HIM! Plunged. Dunked. Baptized. In fact, if anyone is IN Christ, he/she is a new creation. As new creations, there are so many new identity words associated with the new life that we’ll spend a life time trying to sort them all out and apply them. The apostle Peter enlightens us with a few of these new identity words, I hope you’ll be blessed as we meditate on them this coming Sunday.