I used to understand exactly how the game of soccer worked. One team tried to kick the ball in one goal, and the other team tried to kick the ball in the other goal. I had it all figured out. But when I spent my last semester of senior year playing soccer, I realized that the game was much more complex than I had thought it was. Everyone had a different role, and every situation called for a different response. It occurred to me that if I really wanted to understand the game, I’d have to do a lot more digging.

That’s sorta how identity works. Throughout high school, many students become confident in who they are, what they believe, how their personalities work, and where they belong in society. Roughly three months after graduation, identities tend to fly out the door. Students are exposed to the buffet—an expression introduced in my last article—and they realize that their entire palates pale in comparison to the wide selection available. And so begins the identity search.

If you’re a student reading this, you’re likely thinking, I don’t know what he’s talking about. I never questioned who I was. You’re probably right. So far, I haven’t forgotten that I’m Sam. But, identity searching comes in several different forms. Maybe you experimented to see whether or not you’d enjoy something, or you felt a need to belong somewhere without knowing where, or perhaps you even abandoned or accepted your faith in God. Nearly every college student feels prompted to explore his/her identity in some way at some point. This is both awesome and risky for one reason: most students actually find something.

People are complex. Really complex. Despite our best efforts, it’s impossible to summarize everything about a person in one sentence of reasonable length (i.e., no Faulkners or Hemingways). One might even contend that it’s impossible to summarize everything about a person no matter the word count. Thus, identities are far more than simple descriptions. That being said, simple descriptions can convey much more than they’re often given credit for. If you’re on the hunt for who you are, or even if you think you’re set, I hope you’ll find some encouragement in the following simple description.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them,” (Genesis 1:27, ESV).

If you’re reading this, you are God’s personal creation, and He made you in His image. At the very root, that is who you are. It has manifested itself throughout your entire life as you’ve searched and found and searched again, as you’ve loved and wept over those around you, as you’ve demanded both justice and mercy for the wrongdoer, and as you’ve sought redemption for straying from what you’ve somehow known to be right. You might wonder, isn’t identity a personal thing? Shouldn’t my identity be mine alone? You’re not wrong. Like I mentioned earlier, you're unique and far more complex than this article can account for. However, everything you are is built upon the beautiful foundation that God made you in His image. He cares about you, and you are His.

I encourage you to ask yourself who you are. If the answer is something you do, your social status, or anything else that’s not introspective, it may be time to look a little further. If you continue to look and you still can’t reach an identity, you need to start fresh. When you do, remember—a structure built on the wrong foundation is bound to fall at some point. But, if you build your identity upon the fact that the uncreated God emblazoned His own image upon you, surely you will find unquenchable peace and eternal purpose.

“On Christ the solid Rock I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

He saved my soul when I never could,

Oh, my God is life, and life is good.”