"What do you do?"
We don't ever ask the question, with strangers or dear friends, "Who are you?" Whoa. A little much. Right? Our culture defines who we are, generally speaking, as what we do. You are what you do.
But what if we asked God that question? Is He what He does?
In my phonetics class, we practice all the sounds of the world by practicing words from many different languages. For each word, before we practice pronouncing it, we learn the language and its English gloss (or brief translation). We were discussing voiceless vowels, something prevalent in many Native American languages, and this gloss struck a chord, so I jotted it down quickly. In Cherokee, one word means:
In my phonetics class, we practice all the sounds of the world by practicing words from many different languages. For each word, before we practice pronouncing it, we learn the language and its English gloss (or brief translation). We were discussing voiceless vowels, something prevalent in many Native American languages, and this gloss struck a chord, so I jotted it down quickly. In Cherokee, one word means:
'He who cares for children came back after me'
In Cherokee, the above phrase is one word. One noun. One definition and characterization for a specific person.
He who cares for children. That is God. That is what He does right? He came back after me, after I turned my back and strayed so far from His way. And He is faithful. When I wander even now, He invites me back in. Why? Because He is He who cares for children. It is what He does.
But it is also who He is.
I think God does who He is. He acts out of His character. Always. Whether He is Father to the fatherless, Shepherd to the lost sheep, Guide to the seeker, Hope to the hopeless, Provider to the poor, Healer to the sick, Judge to the unjust, or Savior to the sinner.
Yes, we all define ourselves by the things we do or the roles we serve in life. One may be a lawyer and a mother and a wife. Or a secretary and a niece. Another a doctor and a father and a treasurer. Another a student and a sister and a granddaughter and a tutor.
But no matter what we are doing, or what role we are acting in at the moment, we are who we are. Even we pretend to be someone else. At the very least, we are who we are to ourselves.
We do who we are.
I do who I am.
And who am I?
Yes, I'm a student, daughter, granddaughter, cousin, and in the process of becoming a linguist.
But above all, I am a child of God.
And I am to do, to act, to be in every place and role and situation who I am.
The child God went after.
Who are you?
