Read: 1 Peter 1:3-25
He . . . was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you. (v. 20)
In 2003, the worship band Casting Crowns released a song entitled “Who Am I” in which the writer humbly compares himself to a “flower quickly fading” and a “wave tossed in the ocean.” He laments that in our temporal human condition, compared to the Bright and Morning Star, we are like a “vapor in the wind.”
On that beautiful afternoon, May 19, 2020, I tensely waited at home (because of the pandemic shutdown) along with tens of thousands of others for the dams to break or breach and the fervent waters to flow. When they stopped, my own house was a mere two miles from the water’s edge. We were safe and dry, yet just a few streets away, basements had filled, and homes would later be condemned. In nearby rural communities there was massive destruction, loss of property, and untold trauma. How could I not respond? Mucking floors, shoveling filth, tearing down drywall, serving meals, delivering new furniture, working the resource center, etc. In the end, my own contribution was miniscule given the sheer scope of the tragedy, but it was enough. Whatever we do in his name, it simply has to be “enough” given our finite and fragile condition.
Who am I? “I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 1). How eternally grateful I am for that perspective check! —Tammy DeRuyter
As you pray, consider the greatness of God to whom we belong. You are loved, known, and enough.
About the Author
Tammy DeRuyter is a former stockbroker turned student of theology and history. She holds master’s degrees in both from Fuller Theological Seminary and Central Michigan University. Married for more than 25 years to Michael, an ordained RCA pastor, they have three emerging, young adult children ages 20, 21, and 22—the youngest of whom was adopted at 11.
