Sometimes, knowing who we are makes a difference…

“Can I have a name for your order?” asks the guy behind the counter…

“Bob,” I answer.

He writes my name on the ticket and hands me a copy…

“We’ll call you when your pizza is ready,” he says.

This pizza place prides itself on fast service…

Pizzas cooked in special ovens in less than five minutes…

Five minutes pass…

“Bolo,” says a voice on the loudspeaker, “Bolo, your pizza is ready!”

My wife and I look at each other…

Bolo?

That’s a strange name.

Ten minutes pass…

No pizza for us.

They’re still looking for Bolo.

“Bolo, this is your third call…”

“Bolo, your pizza is ready.”

There’s a little irritation in the voice as he calls again for Bolo.

I’m a little irritated myself.

It’s been almost 15 minutes.

I’m hungry…

Where’s my 5-minute pizza?

‘I’ll check on the pizza,” I tell my wife…

Walking up to the counter, I hand my copy of the ticket to the guy on the loudspeaker.

“We’ve been waiting a long time,” I say.

He looks at my ticket…

And starts to smile…

“Oh,” he almost shouts, “you’re Bolo!”

Looking closely as he hands back my ticket…

I realize the last b in Bob does look a little like an l and an O…

I am Bolo!

If only I had known…

My pizza would have been a little fresher…

And a lot hotter…

Sometimes there’s a lot more than a fresh, hot pizza at stake…

Sometimes knowing who we are makes a major difference…

Sometimes we feel trapped by our past mistakes, forgetting God tells us…

…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Sometimes God seems distant and uncaring…

Because we forget who we are …

…in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. Galatians 3:26

Sometimes we think there is no escape from the evil of this world…

Forgetting who we are …

And where our citizenship lies…

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Philippians 3:20

Some days we walk around not knowing who we are …

New creations in Christ…

Citizens of heaven…

Children of God…

And are all the poorer for it.

Let us remember who we are…

And never forget that we could claim none of those titles…

Without the love and mercy and grace of the Lord God Almighty…

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16