Means also knowing who you are not.
John the Baptist had an interesting response to the Jewish leaders when they asked who he was: “I am not the Messiah.”
“Messiah” was a loaded term for first-century Jews. It still is for 21st-century Jews, as well as for Christians. It also has broader connotations in common culture. Perhaps a helpful way of thinking about it is to say that to be the Messiah is to be limitless and to not be the Messiah is to have limits.
Whatever comes to mind when you think “Messiah,” it’s probably healthy to tell yourself in the mirror every so often: “I am not the Messiah.”
I am not the biggest deal. I’m not as big of a deal as I think I am. I’m not as big of a deal as anyone else might think that I am. I can’t help everyone. I can’t solve every problem. I can’t heal every wound. I can’t right every wrong. I can’t quell every fear. I can’t answer every question. I am not the one, and I don’t need to be the one.
I am simply myself. And that is good enough, thank the real Messiah.
