Who Are You?

In Acts 19 there are some demons who ask an interesting question, "Who are you?" The Scripture tells us that some Jews went around casting out demons by saying, "in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Finally, one day the demons responded, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then they were beaten severely and sent out naked and bleeding...

I have heard this passage discussed as a passage about authority, and in some ways, it is about authority. Jesus is the Son of God, Paul is an Apostle - they definitely have some authority. When I read it this morning, however, it occured to me that this passage is also about ownership. The Jews were attempting to reap the benefits of identity with Christ without paying the cost. If the Jews had really owned what they were saying, they would not have been described as Jews, they would have been described as Believers or followers of the Way. If they had owned what they were saying their words would have had power.

Who are you? Have you really accepted all of the power, joy, peace, direction, discipline etc... that comes from being a child of God, or are you just name dropping? I don't know what happened to the seven sons of Sceva after this experience but I would imagine that they took the Name of Jesus a little more seriously. Don't wait until you're backed into a corner by an argumentative relative this Christmas, wrestle with the hard questions now and come to grips with who you are in Christ.