From Gary... Who are you?

Who are you?  Your answer says a lot about who you think you are.  Optimist, pessimist, realist or "Superman"? Superman- really???  Never have met one of those- not yet, anyway!!!  If I were to call myself "Superman", I would have people laugh at me, call me crazy and probably take a few steps backward in order to get away from me.  So, the question of "Who am I" is very important indeed!!!  What about God?  How do you explain HIM???  I can't- let HIM do that himself.  Below you will find a couple of rather long passages, but do yourself a favor and read them, for they are worth reading...

Exodus, Chapter 3

 1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s mountain, to Horeb.  2 Yahweh’s angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.  3 Moses said, “I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” 

  4  When Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, “Moses! Moses!” 

He said, “Here I am.” 

  5  He said, “Don’t come close. Take your sandals off of your feet, for the place you are standing on is holy ground.”  6 Moreover he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” 

Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God. 

  7  Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.  8 I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.  9 Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.  10 Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 

  11  Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 

  12  He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” 

  13  Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you;’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?” 

  14  God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 

John, Chapter 8

  12  Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

  13  The Pharisees therefore said to him, “You testify about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.” 

  14  Jesus answered them, “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from, and where I am going; but you don’t know where I came from, or where I am going.   15 You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one.   16  Even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me.   17  It’s also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid.   18  I am one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.” 

  19  They said therefore to him, “Where is your Father?” 

Jesus answered, “You know neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”   20 Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.  21 Jesus said therefore again to them, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can’t come.” 

  22  The Jews therefore said, “Will he kill himself, that he says, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come’ ?”

  23  He said to them, “You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.   24  I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am ^*n1 he, you will die in your sins.” 

  25  They said therefore to him, “Who are you?” 

Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.   26  I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world.” 

  27  They didn’t understand that he spoke to them about the Father.  28 Jesus therefore said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things.   29  He who sent me is with me. The Father hasn’t left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 

  30  As he spoke these things, many believed in him.  31 Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples.   32  You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” ^*x4 

  33  They answered him, “We are Abraham’s seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How do you say, ‘You will be made free’ ?” 

  34  Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin.   35  A bondservant doesn’t live in the house forever. A son remains forever.   36  If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.   37  I know that you are Abraham’s seed, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you.   38  I say the things which I have seen with my Father; and you also do the things which you have seen with your father.” 

  39  They answered him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.   40  But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do this.   41  You do the works of your father.” 

They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, God.” 

  42  Therefore Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven’t come of myself, but he sent me.   43  Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word.   44  You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.   45  But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me.   46  Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?   47  He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.” 

  48  Then the Jews answered him, “Don’t we say well that you are a Samaritan, and have a demon?” 

  49  Jesus answered, “I don’t have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.   50  But I don’t seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges.   51  Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death.” 

  52  Then the Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets; and you say, ‘If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.’   53 Are you greater than our father, Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?” 

  54  Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God.   55  You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him, and keep his word.   56  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad.” 

  57  The Jews therefore said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 

  58  Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM. ” 

  59  Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through their midst, and so passed by.

God has revealed himself in many ways, these are just two of them.  This is what the Bible teaches. The writer of the book of Hebrews puts it this way...

Hebrews, Chapter 1

1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,  2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.  3 His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;  4 having become so much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they have.  5 For to which of the angels did he say at any time, 

 
“You are my Son.
Today have I become your father?”
and again, 

“I will be to him a Father,
and he will be to me a Son?”

 Jesus identified himself as the great "I AM" and people (most people, anyway) believed him.  Sometime, read the entire Gospel of John in one sitting: make note of the "I am's" in the book and I think you will understand who Jesus is a bit better.  Who am I?  If you are Jesus, you really are a SUPER-man!!!  Everybody else- not quite...

 

PS...  The "greatrose" in my email address refers only to my girth- and nothing else.  If I had to chose one of the four categories above- I would have to go with realist!!!!!  FYI