“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee…” — Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV)
I learned two things about myself that changed the way I looked at my entire life.Neither one changed who I was.But both changed the way I saw Jesus.The first was discovering that I was on the autism spectrum.Suddenly, so much of my past began to make sense. Things I had struggled with. Times I felt different or misunderstood. Moments when the world seemed to be speaking a language everyone understood but me.For years, I didn’t have a name for any of it.
But Jesus did.That’s what struck me.While I was going through life not fully understanding myself, He understood me completely.He knew why certain things were hard for me. He knew what I couldn’t explain. He knew what was happening inside me when even I didn’t.Then I started looking backward.And there He was. He had been walking with me the whole time.
Then another discovery came.
A DNA test indicated that part of my ethnic ancestry was Jewish.
This one touched my heart differently.
Jesus was Jewish.
He was born to a Jewish mother, raised in a Jewish home, and descended from the people whose story fills the Old Testament. He walked this earth as Jesus of Nazareth.
Now, somewhere in the generations behind me, I had discovered a connection to those same people.
I know a DNA result doesn’t make me closer to Jesus spiritually. It doesn’t make me more loved, more saved, or more His.Faith in Christ is what makes me His.“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” — Galatians 3:26 (KJV)But that discovery made the humanity of Jesus feel closer.The Savior I worship didn’t remain distant from us. He entered a family. A people. A lineage. Human history. Somehow, discovering a little more about my own earthly story made His earthly story feel more personal to me.
That’s when these two discoveries came together.One helped me to see that Jesus had always understood me.The other helped me look backward through generations and feel the reality that Jesus truly became one of us.Both reminded me of something I desperately needed to know:I may still be discovering who I am, but Jesus has never had to discover me.
Before the diagnosis, He knew me.Before the DNA test, He knew me.Before I could explain myself, He knew me.Before I ever called His name, He knew mine.Through all those years when I couldn’t see what He was doing, He never stopped walking beside me.Maybe you’re discovering things about yourself too. Maybe you’re looking backward and finally understanding pieces of your story that never made sense before.
Look again.You might discover that Jesus was there in places you never noticed.
Prayer for today:
Jesus, thank You for knowing me before I knew myself. Thank You for walking with me through every chapter, even when I couldn’t see You. Help me look back and recognize Your presence, Your protection, and Your grace. And whatever I discover about myself, remind me that my deepest identity will always be found in You. Amen.
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