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Identity Crisis

The vast majority of those presently in the Hebrew Roots movement have come out of Christianity.  Whatever denomination an individual was in, there was a very well-defined system of beliefs.  Not only was there a very well-defined system of beliefs, but there was also a well-defined mode of worship and practice in one’s everyday life. 

As the individual began questioning these practices which usually centered around Christmas and Easter as well as worship on the first day of the week, one also began examining other beliefs as well.  Soon one finds himself rejecting much of what is found in the tenets of Christianity.  Now mind you, we are not saying that this is either a good or a bad thing; it is just the way it presently is for many people.

Whichever denomination a person had been a part, there was a definite system of hierarchy in which one existed.  In this mode of existence, there was a certain security.  When one chooses to walk away from all that, part of that security disappears.  What ensues is a crisis of identity.  There is no longer a defined system of beliefs.  There is no longer a defined hierarchy.  There is no longer a well-defined path to walk.

The result of this identity crisis is that typically as one begins searching for answers he also unconsciously looks for something to replace those things which were a part of his life, but are now no longer a part of his life.  He looks for a system of belief as well as a hierarchy under which to live.  He looks for a way in which to live and have that same sense of security as he had before leaving Christianity.

In one’s search for these things one will often attach himself to a particular teacher, following him, looking for that same sense of security he had before, not fully realizing what is happening.  As one follows a particular teacher, he soon finds that the teacher is flawed and has shortcomings.  Such is inevitable simply because all men are flawed and not worthy of being followed.  In Christianity, it was a system that was followed rather than a particular man, at least in most cases.  Therefore, what happens is that a person begins jumping from following one teacher to another looking for that which is missing in his life.

Hopefully, at some point, each person comes to understand what is happening in his life and focuses his life upon the only Person worthy of being followed, Yeshua our Mashiach.  Now please do not misunderstand me at this point.  Each and every one of those individuals who has come out of Christianity searching for the Hebrew roots of his faith has done so following Mashiach Yeshua.  However, in many cases it is not the following of Mashiach Yeshua which is the problem.  It is what one has added to this that is the problem.  Even in Christianity, it is not the following of Christ that is the problem; it is the addition of all those things that cannot be supported with Scripture.  It is those things which has caused the questions to arise in the first place.  It is rather a simple matter to find the surface answers to those questions.  It is another matter altogether to find the underlying questions, and hence the answers to those deeper questions.

In many cases, what is being followed is simply tradition, one generation doing that which was handed down to them from the previous generation.  Many of these traditions have no basis or support for their continued practice in Scripture.  Many of those practices should be discarded.  However, when those practices are discarded, what many do not realize is that it is not just those practices that are being discarded.  Much more is discarded with them that lies under the surface.  The love and acceptance of family and friends many times becomes a casualty of such a decision.  Herein lies the root of the identity crisis one experiences upon walking this path.

I fully expect that as this movement continues to develop, those things that are presently missing will begin to be manifest, but it will take time.  In the meantime, the order of the day needs to be grace.  Each person needs to extend a lot of grace to those around him as his fellow seekers also work out their own salvation, seeking those same answers that he has also sought to find.  Let us be patient with one another understanding these things, that we also have walked this same path not all that long ago.

Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com

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