Daily Devotional

Many of the questions and issues that come up in working with teenagers are rooted in questions of identity and purpose: “who am I” and “why am I here?”  For teenagers, finding an answer to these questions is a regular cause of anxiety, angst… sometimes a full-blown existential crisis. Many of the movies, music, and media aimed at teenagers is consciously aware that they’re wrestling with these sorts of questions. The hit Billie Eilish song “What Was I Made For?” from 2023’s Barbie is a great example of this.

Another example comes courtesy of the 2016 Disney hit Moana, which my eighteen-month-old is obsessed with. (Caution: minor spoilers ahead.) Like most “coming of age” stories, Moana is replete with themes of identity and purpose as the titular character, the sixteen-year-old Polynesian princess Moana, goes on a literal voyage of self-discovery. In the emotional climax of the story, Moana pours out her heart adrift on an empty sea beneath a starry sky in a song aptly titled, “I am Moana.” Moana musically fuses an identity that ties together her responsibilities as future chief and her desire to voyage the seas, recognizing that both elements make her who she is. With newfound clarity of purpose, she sets out to complete her quest and ultimately return her people to their ancient seafaring ways. It’s a beautiful moment.

Yet when I hear the song, my attention goes not to the specific identity Moana discovers, but to how she discovers it. She sings, “And the call isn’t out there at all / It’s inside me.” Here’s the problem: most children’s and coming of age stories assume that to find a sense of identity, we look inward. “The call” is not something imposed upon me from outside, but something within me; in other words, my identity and purpose are self-determined. This is the idea behind the catch phrases replete in children’s movies: “Just follow your heart,” “Be yourself,” “Walk your own path.” Our culture answers the question of “who am I meant to be?” by saying “it’s up to you to figure it out;” in other words, “you decide.”

No one decides in a vacuum, however, and so the list of possible identities for teenagers to consider is vast. I can find my identity in a relationship, a group, a fandom, a skill (music, athletics, video games), a character trait (diligence, kindness), or even just being a religious, spiritual, or moral person. From my chosen identity flows an understanding of my purpose: fit in with the cool kids, achieve greatness, enjoy the pleasures of life, or use kindness to change the world. With so many options and so much at stake, is it any wonder that teenagers suffer from a crushing crisis of identity?

But Scripture cuts straight to the lie at the heart of this ontological roller coaster: “you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). In Ephesians 2, Paul answers the question plaguing teenagers with a few short words: “for we are God’s workmanship.” Ground zero for understanding our identity is recognizing that we are the creation of Another. We don’t create our own identity, any more than a piece of clay gets to demand its shape from the potter (Romans 9:20–21). To the anxious soul searching for meaning, what peace, what freedom is found in this truth! My identity, my value, my worth, rests in nothing I do, in no merit of my own, but solely in the love of my Creator and Savior. I am an image-bearer of God, fearfully and wonderfully made, a sinner saved by grace, a saint washed in the blood of Christ, a child of the King, and an ambassador for Christ, none of which is because of me. For the Christian, there is no longer a “me” to speak of, at least apart from Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). My identity is “in Christ:” my life is not about me, but about Him.


Unlike Moana, believers in Jesus don’t need to go some epic voyage of self-discovery. Finding out what “good works” God has called us to takes time and guidance (Ephesians 2:10), certainly, but that’s a very different project from the existential journey to “find myself.”

So where do I find my identity? Would the rest of the sentence “I am a person who…” be about me or about Jesus? May God free us from the rat race of finding meaning, purpose, identity in anything apart from him; may we rest in the beautiful truth that “we are God’s workmanship.”

"English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers."