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IDENTITY AS DESTINY:
KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND YOU WILL KNOW WHERE TO GO
Sometimes we overthink the meaning of discernment. While it's certainly a daily and even an hourly task to know God's will and to do it, it's also primarily a matter of being clear on our mission in its entirety.
Take fourth-century martyr Peter Balsam of Palestine. Dragged before the governor of his province for the crime of his beliefs, according to the still-extant trial transcripts Peter was asked to identify his family. "I am a Christian," he noted simply. Asked about his occupation, he said again, "I am a Christian." Peter wasn't pleading the Fifth Amendment here, but telling the truth as he saw it. Being a follower of the way of Jesus encompassed the totality of his life. It identified Peter's belonging and his mission. The church was his home and his life's work.
When we're tempted to make discernment into a mammoth operation—should I marry this person, join this religious community, take this job, relocate my family, invest this money, make this donation, say yes to this ministry, finally retire, have this medical procedure—it may be clarifying to begin by affirming the basics: I am a Christian. I am in this world to love and serve God and neighbor. My primary values are justice and peace. I am fundamentally a person of hope.
Writing a personal mission statement and keeping it tucked in a drawer can be useful. When uniquely life-changing decisions must be faced, knowing who we are is valuable in setting us on the best course.
—Alice Camille,
reprinted with permission from TrueQuest Communications
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