“What is man that you are mindful of him?” Psalm 8:4
Throughout history, people have asked themselves: “Who am I”? A country song by Jessica Andrews that was released several years ago attempted an answer in these words: “I am Rosemary’s granddaughter, the spitting image of my father. And when the day is done, my momma’s still my biggest fan.” And people today are as lost as they have ever been. There are as many answers to the question, as there are people attempting to answer it.
And in the darkness of this world, transgenderism is one of the answers provided. “If you feel lost or disoriented in your body, you may have been given the wrong body” is what students are now routinely taught. It is troubling when adults believe that sex-change surgery and medication will help them discover who they really are. But it is dangerous when children are involved. Dr. Michelle Cretella, executive director of the American College of Pediatricians, recently stated: "America is engaged in large-scale child abuse." When describing the pediatric community’s encouragement of sex change and hormonal treatments for gender dysphoric youth, Cretella called it "institutionalized child abuse."
Last month, a case of a 7-year old boy who, the mother claimed, identified as a girl, was highly publicized. The judge in Texas ruled that both parents, although divorced, must make joint decisions regarding the welfare of their child, thus effectively, preventing the mother, a pediatrician, from seeking a sex change for her son.
But it is precisely against the darkness of our culture, that the church must shine the light of the gospel. Scripture answers the question this way: “… you care for him. You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour.” Man was created by God, for fellowship with God, and in God’s image! And man, plunged into the nightmare of sin and rebellion, will never understand who he really is, apart from being reconciled to God through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Timothy Keller sums up the gospel this way: “We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” The gospel provides the ultimate answer to the question, “Who am I?”