i am who you say i am

The other day this moving worship song came on in the car.  The words spoke powerfully to me: Who am I that the highest King Would welcome me? I was lost but He brought me in Oh His love for me Oh His love for me Who the Son sets free Oh is free indeed I’m a child of God Yes I am Yes I am I am chosen Not forsaken I am who You say I am You are for me Not against me I am who You say I am (Hillsong Worship) When I heard this beautiful song, when I sang these beautiful words, I thought first about how they apply to: The children at the border scared and without their parents They are who God says they are Beloved, chosen, image bearers of our CreatorThe refugees awaiting processing in camps all over the world They are who God says they are    Beloved, chosen, image bearers of our CreatorThe survivor of domestic violence making a new life for herself She is who God says she is Beloved, chosen, an image bearer of our CreatorThe family of the latest victim of violent crime – or the families of the ones who we have all forgotten because the cycle seems to never end   They are who God says they are Beloved, chosen, image bearers of our CreatorThe elderly man in a nursing home no one visits He is who God says he is Beloved, chosen, an image bearer of our CreatorThe foster children without a home They are who God says they are      Beloved, chosen, image bearers of our Creator And these are important and even needed considerations.  We are to share in the suffering of the lost, hurting and careworn of this world.  The Word of God makes that clear over and over again. But what struck me then was that too often these days when I worship in song, when I listen to a teaching, when I read a book I am always looking to apply it to my work, to the fight against injustice, to the alleviation of suffering, to the mobilization of God’s people for the work he has created us for.  Good things indeed, but the words of this song and many others are also meant for me as a beloved, chosen, image bearer.  I, also, am who God says I am.  I imagine I am not the only one who needs to be reminded to stop, from time to time, to be sure I am drawing close to God as a daughter in need of love and healing and not just a worker called to harvest or a prophet shouting at the wind.  His heart breaks for what is happening in our world today, of this I have no doubt.  He desires me to use the gifts he has given me and the privileges I was born with to affect change and stand with the powerless.  This I know.  But I also know, when I stop and allow myself to, that I am beloved, I am a child of God, I have been set free and there are moments when I simply need to rest in that.