…Or at least, he used to. Let me explain.
I’m sure all my fellow PK’s (Pastors’ Kids) and people “raised in the church” have heard many classic taglines or sayings over the years from their parents and pastors. If you’ve been around Bridgeway or the Michener family for an extended period, you have probably heard some of my father’s (Pastor Mich) sayings:
“My dad always told me the two most important things in life are to love God and to love people.”
And…
“I used to play tailback. That’s right, every time I got off the bench my coach would say ‘Get your tail back on the bench.’”
And…
“When you mess up, fess up, then do your best to fix it up.”
And…
“I can only jump high enough for you to slide a piece of paper under my feet.”
And…
“You can fake caring, but you can’t fake showing up.”
Or maybe you’ve heard his classic: “Donna and I have been married 40 years…IN A ROW…TO EACH OTHER…..WITH NO BREAKS.”
As a teenager, there was one saying that always made my eyebrow rise as I left the house: “Remember whose you are.”
I would think:
“Remember whose I am? I’m a Michener, so don’t do anything too dumb to ruin our reputation?” Is that what he meant?
“Remember that I’m a pastor’s kid and people are always watching me, especially growing up in Columbia, MD?” Maybe that’s what he meant.
Remember whose I am?
What does that actually even mean and why does he keep saying that right as I’m leaving the house?
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve looked back on those moments with growing appreciation. I began to understand what he really meant on a deeper level:
“Remember whose you are.”
You are a child of God.
A son of God.
A daughter of God.
You belong.
You matter.
You are loved.
Nothing can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).
He will not leave you. He will never abandon you (Hebrews 13:5).
As I was leaving the house, what my dad was really saying was:
“REMEMBER WHOSE YOU ARE… and go conduct yourself accordingly.”
What does it mean to conduct yourself knowing that you belong to God? What would it look like if you walked in that confidence?
What would it look like if you walked in that security?
What would it look like if you lived without the (at times) dramatic sensitivity that insecurities overwhelm you with?
What would it look like if you didn’t feel like your personality was too little or too much?
What would it look like if you lived loving your body?
What would life look like without the self-obsession of being too short? Too tall? Too skinny? Too fat? What if you embraced the beauty that is you, because God created you, and that actually propelled you toward taking better care of your body instead of pushing you further into some shame cycle?
What would your life look like without chronic self-comparison? If you were genuinely happy with how people are progressing in their lives without it creating a more negative image of yourself?
What would my life look like if I wasn’t constantly trying to do things to make other people think more highly of me? If I wasn’t driven by people-pleasing? If I wasn’t so insecure because people don’t agree with every decision I make in my life?
This is what it means to “REMEMBER WHOSE YOU ARE.”
Sure, we have parents, spouses, kids, bosses, and mentors, and we would like to make them proud. Sure, we want to progress in our jobs to create more security for our families. Those are all reasonable things.
But are we driven by things in the human realm or are we driven by making our Heavenly Father proud? Is our identity and security rooted in Him or not?
This may be dramatic but go with me for a second… If you lost the things in your life that you find valuable – your job, your relationships, your home, your success, and your education – if it was all stripped away and you had nothing left, would your life be over? Or, would you “REMEMBER WHOSE YOU ARE” and find your hope and purpose in that?
As I grapple with these things as a 30-year-old man, I realize the phrase that used to annoy me as a teen today brings me comfort and confidence. I can’t help but to also think about the students in our church. As I am on a personal journey towards re-rooting my confidence in Christ, I think, “What if the students in our church, in our world, knew whose they were?” How life-changing would that be?
Especially when we are young, we make so many poor, sometimes life-scaring decisions because we are seeking love, we are seeking acceptance, and we are seeking to belong in all the wrong places. Sure, teenagers will always be teenagers, but how much pain and suffering could be avoided if they could remember “whose they are” and lived accordingly?
I am so excited to launch our Youth Ministry programs this month as we continue to walk with our students through everyday, real life. In Bridgeway’s Student Ministry, the community that we are creating, the messages we will speak, the breakout groups we will facilitate, the events that we will put on, and everything else we do is all about pointing students toward Christ, helping them be confidently rooted, and helping them…
“REMEMBER WHOSE THEY ARE.”
Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are His” (2 Timothy 2:19b).
It is my prayer that we can all grow our confidence in Christ. I pray that we “Remember whose we are” and conduct ourselves accordingly. If you are a parent of a Middle or High School student, don’t miss the many opportunities our Student Ministry has created to spur your students along in this area and so many more.
Click here for more info on what BSM (Bridgeway Student Ministries) has to offer
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