You've likely heard the stories in the media over the last several weeks about two individuals who have gone to drastic measures to alter their identities. Bruce Jenner, former Olympic champion and recent reality-TV star, has announced to the world that he identifies as a woman. His new name is Caitlyn, and after a few high-profile interviews, he's comfortable presenting himself to the world as a woman.

Identity.

Just recently, a woman who was the head of her Spokane, Washington NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) chapter admitted - after her parents outed her - that she isn't African American at all. Rather, she's a white woman who identifies with being African American. The reality of her deception and the controversy it caused led her to step down from her position.

Identity.

As I'm writing this, news is coming out about a young white man who entered an historically black church in South Carolina and killed 9 people, wounding many others. Reportedly, it was a hate crime against African Americans. Finding his identify in his own skin color, he lashed out in violence at those different from him.

Identity.

Where does your identity come from? We live in a culture where so many people are drastically searching for their own identity. Who am I? Why am I here? What's my purpose? How do I fit in? The above examples are frightening, frankly, not just because of how drastic they are, but because of how many Americans not only accept this kind of identity change, but celebrate it and encourage it.

But should we be surprised?

The capacity of any human being's sinful nature to grasp for an identity that is not rooted in God's creation, Christ's redemption, and the Spirit's indwelling is limitless. If I don't know who I am, then the sky's the limit - or hell is the depth - of where I can search for an identity.