One of the questions Moses asked God at the time of his call sounded humble but was actually self-absorbed:
Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
Exodus 3:11
God didn’t respond with a pep talk. He didn’t say, “You are amazing, and you can do this.” He did something better. He promised to support Moses and affirmed his own identity: “I will be with thee. … I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:12, 14).
Moses clearly internalized the truth God was teaching: He later dismissed Satan with these words:
Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten.
Moses 1:13
President Russell M. Nelson urged us to prioritize three labels as we consider our identity: child of God, child of the covenant, and disciple of Jesus Christ (“Choices for Eternity,” Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, 15 May 2022). Notice that all three of these labels are outward-facing. They are all relational. They all define us by our relationship to God rather than our own inherent characteristics.
When the brother of Jared approached God with an audacious request, he prefaced it with an abject confession: “We know … that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually” (Ether 3:2). But when Jesus Christ appeared to him, He immediately emphasized their similarities, not the distance between them. “Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image” (Ether 3:15). We can find self-worth not by inflating our own self-perception but by recognizing our relationship to a truly perfect Being.
Today, I will remember that I am a child of God. I will let that relationship define me, give me hope, and motivate my thoughts and actions.
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