I have heard a lot said about identity lately. Questions typically include: “What makes you who you really are?” “What unique characteristics do you possess?” “In what or in whom do you place your identity?” As I lay awake this evening, heart burdened for my family, I began to think about these questions.
I received a call yesterday afternoon from my family informing me that my dad had been involved in an accident on our farm. A piece of heavy equipment fell crushing three of the fingers on his left hand. 
While the details are gruesome (I will spare you!), the situation burdening my heart the most is that doctors have told him there is a very strong possibility that he will lose at least one finger. My dad is a man who works with his hands. The thought of those strong hands being changed – hands which lifted a pig-tailed little girl to his shoulders countless times – just breaks my heart. My dad is also struggling, angry at himself for allowing something so careless to happen, burdened with the unknown.
Were you to place my dad in a line-up of other similar-looking 60 year old men, I would most definitely be able to pick him out. Then I began to think, were you to blindfold me and only describe the character qualities of these men, I believe I would still be able to pick him out from the crowd. As much as I know my dad by his outward appearance, I know him even more for the man he is inside. No amount of physical change can alter who he really is – a caring son, a faithful husband, a loving father, a passionate worker.
Then, I thought about our Heavenly Father. We have never seen Him, yet we know Him by His matchless qualities. He is the ultimate Loving Father, Comforter, Healer. We know His touch, His work, His call. No amount of man-made striving or attempts to lessen His presence can change Who God is or the way He impacts our lives. We can place labels on Him, try to keep Him inside of our churches and out of our daily lives, but we will never be able to alter Who He truly is.
The same goes for my dad. Whether he has 10 fingers, nine and half fingers, or none at all, nothing will ever change who he really is. Nothing will be able to take away from him the titles of son, husband, father, and friend. I serve a God that does not allow the world to define Himself or His children. We are only defined by the grace and mercy of a Loving Father. And that is who we really are.
