When We Forget Who We Are (Broken Aether post 1)

Before we launch into this new book study, I feel like I should preface with the fact that the underlying messages in Broken Aether are not actually what I thought they were going to be. Thinking back to when I started writing this book, the thought was to send a message about the importance of kindness and doing the right thing (shocker, I know). But while there are some ways that the story highlights kindness, that ended up being a far more prominent theme of Ashes. Instead, Broken Aether became something different- something more focused on going against the grain, doing the right thing no matter what, and understanding where exactly we fall in God’s design.
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So. Let’s get into it.

​The first aspect of understanding our place in God’s design is understanding who we are to Him. During Rena’s early days at the Society of Aristotelian Pursuits, she is unsurprisingly enamored with the high society happenings, scientific discoveries, and alluring confidence of everyone around her. This is the same time she is courting James, a well-respected gentleman who supports the Society’s stance on pretty much everything. Rena is welcomed into this group of people and praised for her creativity and contributions. But it’s during this time that she makes what is arguably her greatest mistake in the story: She lets other people dictate who she is.
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In Rena’s case, this initially seems like it isn’t an issue. After all, she quickly becomes a respected member of the Society, welcomed into the inner circle, and things are going great with James. Many of us have, unfortunately, experienced the opposite more often. People tell us who we are in a negative sense- that we’re not enough, we’re not loved, we aren’t beautiful creations. That is undeniably hurtful. But the danger of finding our identity in who other people say we are goes both ways.

In high school and the very beginning of college, my identity hinged on my academic performance. For whatever reason, I always did well in school. Given that I went to such a small school for elementary through high school, people knew that, and the expectation became that I would always be a high academic achiever. In some ways, of course, it was good to have that push. But eventually it became more of a burden than a motivator. I had to get the top grades, not because it was important to do my best in everything, but because I was afraid of what others would think and say if I didn’t. I knew who I was because people told me. I was smart. I was a high-achiever. I was the one who got the right answers and the desirable grades and the academic success. I was wrong to think that having this kind of identity, which depended on external approval and input, would be fulfilling.

At the end of my first semester of college (the same semester that I had the initial idea for Broken Aether), I received an A- in one class. And with that (thank God!), any goal of a “perfect” GPA was unachievable. It was probably the most important grade I received in college. Between that and the other changes that were happening as I began to step out on my own, the empty shell of an identity built on my performance and the opinions of others began to shatter, making room for something of actual substance.

But the purpose of writing all of this isn’t just to tell you what you shouldn’t do. The good news is this: We don’t need anyone except God to tell us who we are. We don’t need to rely on the identity crafted by other people because our Heavenly Father gives us the only identity that truly matters. The One who made you knows exactly who you are.

In Colossians chapter three, Paul refers to those who have given their lives to Christ as His “chosen people, holy and dearly loved” (Col. 3:12, NIV). In Ephesians 2:10, we find that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (NIV). This verse reveals the truth that not only are we God’s handiwork or fine craftsmanship, reminding us of the blessing of being created by Him, but we also are given a purpose. Part of this purpose is that as a “chosen people” we “declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Our identity is both beautiful creation and faithful servant in Christ, which is why any identity from a source other than God will always fall short and leave us chasing after things that will never completely satisfy.

But maybe you are someone reading this who has not yet found their relationship with Christ. If that’s the case, the principle still stands that we are lost when we forget who we are. And we only truly know who we are when we know who God says we are. You are wonderfully and thoughtfully created (Psalm 139:13-16). You are intimately known (1 Samuel 16:7). You are sought after and welcomed (Luke 15:7). And most importantly, you are loved so deeply by the Almighty God of the universe that He would, and did, die for you (John 3:16).

When we forget who we are, we are far more likely to wander down paths that don’t bring joy or fulfillment and often, in fact, bring pain. But when we remember the beautiful truth of our God-given identity, we rediscover the hope and freedom that comes with the life He designs. My prayer is that wherever you are in life, like Rena, you come to discover the truth of who you are as God’s creation.