Who Am I?

Perhaps this is one of the simplest and hardest questions in life.

Recently, while talking about a personality test that has already been taken by thousands of people,
I noticed something curious.

Regardless of age, profession or life story, many people reacted in a similar way when they received the result:

“That's me.”
“It seems someone knows me.”
“It described me perfectly.”

That made me think.

How curious human beings are.

We spend a good part of our lives observing the world, trying to understand others, interpreting events
and making decisions. But we rarely stop to observe ourselves.

Perhaps that is why self-knowledge awakens so much interest.

Deep down, we all want to answer a simple question:

But this question is deeper than it seems.

Our roles do not answer everything

When someone asks who we are, we usually answer with what we do.

I am an engineer. I am a teacher. I am a business owner. I am a father. I am a mother. I am retired.

But none of this really answers the question.

They are functions. They are roles. They are phases of life.

The question is still there:

Who am I?

Personality does not explain everything either

Others try to answer by looking at personality.

I am shy. I am outgoing. I am organized. I am creative. I am rational. I am emotional.

These answers go a little further.

But they still seem insufficient.

Because people change. They mature. They learn. They fail. They start again.

Who was the same Peter who denied Jesus and, later, spoke boldly before crowds?

Who was the same Paul who persecuted the church and, later, dedicated his life to the gospel?

Who was the same John, called “son of thunder,” who would later write so much about love?

If they changed, then their identity was not tied only to personality.

Something deeper was happening.

Now we are, but it has not yet been manifested

Perhaps one of the deepest statements in Scripture about identity is in this phrase from John:

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been manifested what we shall be.
But we know that, when he is manifested, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

1 John 3:2

John states two things at the same time.

Now we are children of God.

But it has not yet been manifested what we shall be.

There is a present reality and a reality in formation.

Perhaps that is why it is so hard to fully answer the question:

Who am I?

Because the answer is not only in the past.

Nor is it only in the present.

It points to something that is still being revealed.

What we do not yet see

Perhaps that is why the Scriptures repeatedly invite us to look inward.

Not to feed the ego.

Not to build a better image of ourselves.

But to see what we do not yet see.

We have filters.

We have fears.

We have desires.

We have beliefs that shape the way we interpret reality.

And when we begin to notice these filters, something interesting happens.

We discover that we are not only what we imagined we were.

The most important question

But there is an even more important question.

Not only:

Who am I?

But:

The Bible presents a surprising answer.

It does not point only to a change of behavior.

It points to an inner transformation.

“My children, I am again suffering labor pains for you,
until Christ is formed in you.”

Galatians 4:19

The Bible reveals that Christ is the son of the living God.

And whoever is born again, born of God, through the Holy Spirit, is also a child of the living God.

Perhaps that is why Paul teaches:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Colossians 1:27

Perhaps the greatest discovery is not finding a profile that describes us.

Perhaps the greatest discovery is realizing that we were called to a transformation much greater
than any description of personality.

Tests can reveal tendencies.

Experiences can reveal limitations.

Life can reveal virtues and weaknesses.

But God reveals children.

Children who are still growing.

Children who are still maturing.

Children in whom Christ is being formed.

A tool for reflection

If you want to reflect a little more on your own patterns of behavior,
we offer for free an Enneagram test that has already been taken by thousands of people.

It does not completely answer the question “Who am I?”, but it can help you see some things
that perhaps you have not yet noticed.

Note: the test is for informational and reflective purposes. It does not replace professional support
when a psychological or emotional evaluation is needed.