Samuel anointed the young Saul to be king over Israel as the Lord had commanded him. Saul had sought the prophet’s help in finding his father’s donkeys, instead he found his true identity.
When Samuel began to tell Saul of his God-given identity, he resisted, saying, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?” (1 Sam. 9:21).
Saul’s identity was tied to his tribe, race, and nation, as all traditional identities are formed. Yet, God wanted to give him His Spirit and turn him “into another man,” the man who would rise above his former self and lead Israel as king.
Traditionally, identity has been formed by external cues, as Saul’s had been. Today, our modern culture encourages people to look within to find their identity independent of external realities, relying on whatever dreams or desires they possess. However, both of these approaches are poor mirrors of discovering the true self.
The true, Creator-given self can only be found in Christ. Come to Christ and He will give you a new name and a new identity. Looking to Christ, you will find your true self reflected in His face.
As the apostle John wrote, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).