Knowing God is the antidote to our identity crisis, Mark Smith writes.
''Bruce Jenner: an all-American identity crisis.''
This is the title given to Michael Wolf's April GQ magazine piece on Bruce Jenner's metamorphosis.
He traces Jenner's journey from Olympic hero to reality TV's transgender triallist, unearthing Jenner's battle to find himself.
Who am I?
How do I see myself?
How do other people see me?
What is my identity?
These are all important questions and by no means limited to Olympic greats or TV celebrities.
When our perception of our self is connected to something we do, it can easily unravel.
Sports Psychology writer Emma Vickers suggests ''that a sports star will die twice, the first time at retirement, but if you aren't an athlete, then who are you?''
Lane Nichols, in his report ''Life after rugby full of blindside tackles'', comments: ''About one in three former players said they had suffered depression, anxiety and stress.''
A similar figure experienced ''problems due to a loss of identity/public profile''.
When self-image or identity is connected to your performance or the place in the team, then injury, non-selection or retirement can cause something of an identity crisis.
This issue is not just for the sporting elite, however.
Empty nesters, particularly mothers, whose grown children have moved out, can often face an identity crisis.
''Empty nest syndrome'' is largely caused by a sense of self, based on our identity as a parent.
The answer to ''Who am I?'' departs as the children leave home.
Our reputation at work is another.
Retirement looms and so does a sense of unease.
The ''Who am I?'' question may be deflected by material wealth, but when it beckons, our identity becomes vulnerable and disproportionate anxiety ensues.
For yet others, it may be connected to physical appearance.
When signs of ageing show, there is a sense of trauma and fear, so we turn to the surgeon's scalpel or various treatments to delay the inevitable.
All this is related to how we see ourselves; our self-image - who we are?
Whether male or female, husband or wife, our ethnicity, sporting achievements, academic success, perceived attractiveness; who or what gives us an identity?
In Christian theology, ''who we are'' isn't rooted intrinsically within us, in what we have done, or how we appear.
Nor is it connected to our performance on the sports field, in the business world or how we strut on the catwalk.
It begins not with who we are, but whose we are.
The Bible says we are made by God, ''imago dei''.
Within each one of us is the unique imprint God placed upon humanity, identifying us as a special creation.
''Then God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image and likeness'.'' (Genesis 1:26).
So who we are is not determined by performance or popular applause.
It is deeper than skin colour or ethnic heritage.
It is more complex than our individual DNA.
It goes beyond our gender at birth or seek to identify with thereafter.
It is not connected to our dress size, athletic ability or street address.
It is intrinsic in every human being, hardwired by God himself.
To paraphrase 16th-century theologian John Calvin, ''We can never arrive at an accurate self knowledge without looking into the face of God. We can't understand who we are without some knowledge of who He is.''
When we shut God out of the picture, we are left groping in the seemingly illusive quest to find our identity.
It is like trying to do a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle in the dark!
No matter how hard we try, the pieces don't quite fit.
God sent his Son into this damaged world, to heal the brokenness, give clarity amid the confusion, restore the distorted images and give us a new identity.
The search to find ourselves is not found by looking deeper within.
This commonly leads to confusion and being lost in a maze of introspection.
We need to look outside ourselves to the One who gives everything true meaning, perspective and significance.
As we come to know Him, our significance and who we are pales by comparison. Knowing God our maker, I believe, is the antidote to our identity crisis.
• Mark Smith is pastor at Grace Bible Church, Dunedin.
