When the boys were young, one of them asked, “Where do babies come from?”

I didn’t think any of us were ready to address that question. So, I answered, “Babies come from God.”

Of course, the little smarty pants said, “Then how does a baby get in a mommy’s tummy?”

Not to be outdone, I retorted, “Well, God puts the baby there.”

The more I think about this conversation, the more I realize that it had to be Sjon-Paul because he instinctively knew that I wasn’t being totally forthcoming.

“Mom, where is the baby before it’s in the mommy’s tummy? Where was I before I was born?”

I honestly didn’t think before I answered, “Before you were born, you were in the mind of God.”

While I wasn’t prepared to give the basics of biology that day, I wasn’t being untruthful.

In Jeremiah 1:5, God says, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

In Psalm 139:13-16 we read, “You MADE all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

God knew us before we were born, and He knows us now. Yet, so often, we struggle to know ourselves. We question our identities, our value, and whether or not we have anything to contribute in this world. Why am I here, Lord? What am I meant to do? Does my life really matter?

Several months ago, I had a conversation with a young woman in my life. Discouraged in my ministry, I asked her, “What kind of product or service could I provide to spiritually encourage you?”

As we talked about the struggles of daily Bible reading and regular church attendance in the changing landscape of 2021, she reminded me that the spiritual needs of one generation aren’t that different from the spiritual needs of another.

We need spiritual leadership and scriptural teaching.
We need Christian fellowship and consistent encouragement.
We need spiritual disciplines and Godly discipleship.
We need accountability and availability.

But life is different in 2021, and the spiritual needs of many women aren’t being met in youth groups or Sunday school classes or with potlucks or postcards anymore. Certainly, our world is full of women who don’t know the Lord, but our world is also full of women who claim to be Christians but who aren’t growing in Christ. Some of them really want to; they just don’t know how.

I asked God, “What can I do about it?” He answered with MADE, a program designed to provide Mentoring, Accountability, Discipleship, and Encouragement to 22 women in the year of 2022.

We live in an age of lost identities. In a world where anything goes, we can be anything we want to be. Yet, more often than not, we are shells of our real selves. We suffer from fatigue, loneliness, depression, and anxiety. We are unmotivated. We have lost our vision. We are floundering like fish out of water because we have forgotten who we are and who we are MADE to be.

As I began to contemplate this study, the last place I wanted to go was back to Hebrews. Hebrews is a daunting book, at least it was to me. Prior to 2020, I had read the book at least once before, maybe twice, but I never really studied it. Even though I had been a Christian for 44 years, Hebrews intimidated me.

At the age of 49, I wanted to study something “new.” I wanted to dig into a part of the Bible that I had never studied before, that I knew little about. I asked my mom to join me, and we tackled Hebrews together. It took us more than six months to finish a book that has only 13 chapters.

Even though Hebrews is a book of the New Testament, I quickly discovered myself knee-deep in Old Testament history. The weightiness of the message grew heavier with each week. By the time I got to the last page, I was ready to do a little dance. I had learned so much, but, honestly, I was tired of it. I read it. I studied it. I understood it. It was time to move on to something a little less intense and more, shall we say, practical?

But, as I thought about MADE, God kept bringing me back to Hebrews.

Hebrews has little to say about any of us. Hebrews is a book that focuses on Christ. It outlines who Jesus was before He came to Earth, who He was when He came to Earth, and who He is now and forever more. Hebrews is an argument for Christianity, addressed to a primarily Jewish audience. Like a lawyer, the author presents a case for Christ. Hebrews has nothing to do with our identity, or does it?

1 Peter 2:21 tells us that Christ “is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”
Ephesians 5:1 says, “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.”
Romans 8:29 says, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, “
Luke 6:40 says, “Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.”

As Christians, our identities are rooted in Christ. We are MADE in the image of God and called to be like our Savior. How can we be who we are meant to be if we don’t know who Jesus really is? By studying the book of Hebrews, we can learn who Christ is and who we are MADE to be.

I am excited that you are joining me on this journey. As I write this, I do not know your names. I do not know your faces. I don’t even know how all of this will play out. But, guess what? I’m praying for you anyway. I have no idea where you are or how God will bring you to me, but I trust that He will. So, I am lifting you up to the Father today, asking that He draw us together, that He give us wisdom, and that through His power we learn exactly who we are MADE to be.