Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan were probably at or nearby a church in Sydney, Australia (at the Hillsong Convention Centre, see the picture) where they were ministers in 2017 when they wrote a song that they thought was especially needed by young people trying to overcome anxiety. “Who You Say I Am” – that’s what Ben and Reuben reminded them, and also those of us who are older (!), about how security and peace-of-mind is captured. Identity. If one word could sum up what these two thought God’s Son was saying to skeptics two thousand years ago, that would be it. With that certainty of identity comes certainty of one’s destiny, too. But even Jesus, the Son who brings this identity to those He made, must have realized during the extended debate with those skeptics that convincing people would be difficult. ‘Do you want to get well?’ (John 5:6), Jesus had once asked a lame man; and so, is He likewise asking you and me, ‘Do you want to be free of anxiety?’ Just believe in Him, and how you are connected to Him…that’s the solution, straight from your Creator’s mouth.
Ben’s and Reuben’s efforts actually yielded two songs – ‘Be Still’ and ‘Who You Say I Am’ – as they sought to provide young people reassurance, an indication at the depth of confusion that often accompanies anxiety. The cynics with whom Jesus was trying to reason were also confused, and though some believed, they still seemed very puzzled at Jesus’ claims about Himself. ‘I’m here to set you free’ (John 8:36) is a paraphrase of what He wanted to do for them. And yet they reacted as if they thought there must be another answer, and ultimately attempted to kill this freedom-bringer (John 8:59). Ben Fielding says he shared this story from scripture with the church in Sydney, including the words of Jesus about His coming to set slaves free, an assertion that he and Reuben underscored in the song’s lyrics. Some people who are limited in their spirits by earthbound conventional thinking, like those skeptics Jesus confronted, would no doubt contend ‘I’m not a slave!’ But, Reuben and Ben say with their poetry that if you’re ‘lost’ (v.1), or are a ‘slave to sin’ (v.2), Jesus has come to free you. He’s ‘brought (you) in’ (v.1); made you ‘a child of God’ (refrain); ‘ransomed (you)’, and made this transaction ironclad by ‘(dying) for (you)’ (v.2). ‘Free indeed’ (refrain), these two Aussie songwriters say with conviction, over and over again, as if they understand that these words might be difficult for some people loaded down with guilt and suspicion to accept. You can be certain that there’s a place for you in the ‘Father’s house’, that you ‘are chosen’, and that He’s ‘for (you), not against (you)’, they say elsewhere in the song. Ben concludes in an interview about the song by saying identity = ‘knowing ourselves in Christ’, and that in this knowledge comes a ‘stability’ for life.
Am I willing to accept the title words of this song by Ben and Reuben, that I am ‘Who You (Jesus) Say I Am? A book in our 21st Century (Now, Discover Your Strengths, authors Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton) has suggested that professionals in all organizations can maximize their abilities by knowing and zeroing in on their specific character identities. That’s how you improve an organization’s professional health, according to them. In Jesus’ day, some of the sick tried to get healthy by jumping into a miraculous pool of water (at Bethesda, John 5:7), while other Jews argued with Jesus and wished Him dead, when He told them how to find their true identities and achieve spiritual health. Jesus was eventually executed, but He came out of that grave, and so can you and I. There’s a lot to appreciate about freedom in an earthly place where you and I live every day. But, there’s lots that enslaves too, not least of which is that inevitable grave, the same one Jesus conquered. There’s a way through this, if you’ll listen to what Ben and Reuben remind you that Jesus can do. He wants you. Be free in Jesus.
The song’s story is here: Who You Say I Am by Hillsong Worship - Songfacts and here: #941 - "Who You Say I Am" by Hillsong Worship | BEHIND THE SONG WITH KEVIN DAVIS | NewReleaseToday
See some information about the song here: Who You Say I Am (song) - Wikipedia
See Hillsong Convention Centre image information here: File:Hillsong Convention Centre.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Tatie2189. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Tatie2189 grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
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