“Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture,” Psalm 100: 3 (NIV).
“Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture,” (KJV).
Two different versions of the same verse provide different but not contradictory messages. Some scholars favor the first version; others the second.
“He . . . made us, and we are His”–or–“He . . . made us, and not we ourselves.” The Bibles I most often use for study provide these different versions, but each includes the other in a footnote.
Both provide insight and wisdom. We are His. We do not make ourselves.
A distinctive quality of our times is that people insist on creating versions of themselves, remaking their own identities in the likeness of an image they’ve conceived and propose to give life to.
Proponents of self-creation assert that sexuality is fluid, yet they argue for permanent alterations for those too young to truly know themselves or be able to separate their own desires from those of others.
The more young people hear about transgenderism, the more it grows in popularity–a previously unheard-of phenomenon before it became a topic of pop conversation.
Chantel Hoyt writes, “The cultural phenomenon of transgenderism is growing at an astonishing rate. The number of gender reassignment clinics in the United States has increased from one in 2007 to 50 today. In her book, Irreversible Damage, Abigail Shrier reports that most Western countries have seen a 1,000-5,000 percent increase in teenage females seeking treatment from gender clinics and psychologists—many of whom recommend that these girls socially and physically transition through hormones and sometimes surgery.”
The change in numbers reflects a change in sociology rather than scientific breakthrough.
Who of us would like to be held to an irrevocable decision we made in our teen years–or even earlier? Now many are stuck with the ramifications of such decisions for the rest of their lives.
Years ago, Europe leapt ahead of the US in allowing transgender treatments for the young. Now several countries have wised up and back-pedaled. We should take heed.
“The United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, and France have all taken steps recently to pull back on transgender medical treatments for seemingly gender-dysphoric children.
“Sweden has been one of the most progressive nations on transgender health care for decades. Back in 1972, Sweden became the first country to allow transgender people to change their legal gender.
“Last year though, Swedish hospitals halted the use of puberty blockers in five of the country’s six clinics for minors with gender dysphoria. The last clinic only uses puberty blockers in clinical trials. The country now emphasizes psychotherapy for minors with gender dysphoria instead.”
America needs to push on the brakes too.
Attempting to “make ourselves” rejects God’s image within us. Making ourselves rejects the person whom He made us to be–who we authentically are.
The young will not find themselves by looking in the mirror and imaging someone else looking back.
Human beings can only truly find themselves in God–the one who made the image they see in the mirror and knows them completely.
So sad that those who refuse to find their identity in Christ, instead place their identity in their sexuality. Even worse, not in their created sexuality, but rather in the sexuality they want to create – the ultimate rejection of God as Creator.
So true, Ava. It is sad. May they see the truth about who God made them to be. Thanks and God bless!
Well said Ms. Nancy. A well-sourced, biblically sound article. God does not make mistakes. We are made in His image (imago deo) and for His purpose, not our own. We may not understand why God created us to be male or female in our mother’s womb, but we cannot and should not attempt to override God. Especially not when it involves young people who have not yet reached an age of reason and logic. Thank you for this piece. While I can never condone transgenderism, etc., I can and do pray for those who are affected by it. #SinIsSin and we MUST extend the same grace to a gay or lesbian person that Christ gave us. As a Bible-believing Christian who holds a biblical worldview, I must accept that there are people among us who are LGBTQ (or whatever the correct pronoun might be today), but I will NEVER convince myself they are not living in sin as they practice this behavior. It’s a case of “hating sin but loving the sinner” I think.
I agree that we must love all, and that means speaking truth in love. Thanks, JD. God bless!
This entire topic sickens me. To choose to remove parts of your body that you will later regret losing, to turn away from the beauty of your assigned gender because you happen to be a girl who is a tomboy or a boy who loves cooking and sewing is inconceivable to me. And yet, I have friends whose daughters no longer identify as women. It is truly heartbreaking, for we know that regret lies before them, just as it did for the people who mutilated their bodies in the 1980s.
I pray people will see the truth and love themselves as God made them. Thanks, Melinda. God bless!
Our identity is in Christ. God created us and we are His. I pray for all who are confused.
Thank you for praying, Melissa. God bless!
Isn’t it interesting that even as we downgrade masculinity, so many girls and women want to transition to manhood. Of course, as you say, that’s not possible. It’s only when we’re hidden in Christ that we shine as the individuals we were created to be.
It’s such a lie from Satan to tell us we have to change who we are to be happy. Thanks, Annie. God bless!
People are SO confused about their identity, so they look for another way to identify. The real problem is that we don’t understand we didn’t create ourselves, and besides, our identity is bigger than the skin we are in. We are children of God, precious souls, and our identity is in Christ.
Satan is the author of confusion, and he never keeps his promise of happiness once we accept his false offer. Thanks, Jessica. God bless!
Great insight here, Nancy. Love how you used Psalm 100:3 as a basis for finding our identity in Christ. And this, “Human beings can only truly find themselves in God–the one who made the image they see in the mirror and knows them completely.” Amen
Thanks, Karen. We find ourselves in Him. God bless!
Such a difficult thing for me to grasp. God made me who I am and He has a purpose in it too. So very sad. And no matter what, science will always show your true identity in our DNA. 😢
That’s right, Yvonne. We can’t change our identity on a cellular level. Thanks for reading and commenting. God bless!