Article September 11, 1943 Issue

Establishing One's Identity

HAROLD B. ALDEN

Many of us may have found it necessary at some time to establish our identity. It may have been when cashing a money order, on the receipt of a registered letter, or when voting at a public election. Sometimes when traveling in a foreign country it has been necessary to prove one's identity. In some way, either through a photograph, passport, written signature, friend, or through some other type of witness, we were able to give satisfactory proof of our identity.

Our human identity is established by certain traits or characteristics. These, however, have no permanence; they are subject to material conditions. The passing of time may change us or we may reside in a different locality, so that we can no longer depend on past conditions for identification. But not so with spiritual identity, which is real and changeless.

Sooner or later it will be necessary for us all to establish our identity as sons and daughters of God. There is the right way to do this, and no better example can be followed than that of Jesus, the Way-shower, who many times found it necessary to give evidence of his identity. One instance serves to illustrate how this was done. It had been called to the attention of John the Baptist that the Messiah had come according to prophecy. Although Jesus of Nazareth had been doing "many mighty works," John had become uncertain as to whether this man of Galilee was the one of whom prophecy spoke. He therefore sent two of his disciples to Jesus with instructions that they obtain positive identification.

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