{"id":5206,"date":"2026-02-04T07:56:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T12:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/?p=5206"},"modified":"2026-02-04T07:56:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T12:56:23","slug":"the-one-and-only-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/04\/the-one-and-only-you\/","title":{"rendered":"The One and Only You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>
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People change. We have the wedding pictures to prove it.
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But how do we know that the figure in that long-ago snapshot is the same person we can share coffee with today?
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This is what psychologists call the Problem of the Self. Is there something lasting and durable at the core of every human being \u2013 a \u201cself\u201d that endures through every transition \u2013 or does a person\u2019s identity change with every new social situation?\u00a0
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To address this question, philosophers have spent centuries wrestling with something called the Paradox of the Ship of Theseus.
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According to Greek mythology, Theseus, the mythical king of the city of Athens, journeyed to Crete, where he slew the Minotaur \u2013 a half-man-half-bull monstrosity. In the process, he rescued the children of Athens who had been enslaved by King Minos.
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To commemorate his great victory, the citizens of Athens commissioned an annual celebratory voyage in the ship of Theseus, which they kept moored along the coast.
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As the years went by, the timbers of the ship began to rot. The Athenians faithfully replaced them, one by one, until not a single original plank remained.
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Philosophers then posed this question: Is the ship of Theseus still the same ship of Theseus? If the components of the entire vessel have been swapped out, in what sense did the Athenians have the<\/u><\/em> original ship that Theseus used to rescue the children?
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We can address the same question by considering some of the world\u2019s most popular rock bands. Over the years, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, and Lynyrd Skynyrd have experienced significant personnel changes but have tried hard to retain their iconic identities.
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The progressive rock band Yes has seen a revolving door of musicians and songwriters. If you go to a Yes concert in 2026 \u2013 and yes, Yes is still performing after almost 60 years \u2013 are you seeing the same old Yes because they\u2019re playing the same old songs, or are you experiencing a new and different Yes because most of the band members are new and different?
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How about your identity as an individual? Is there something about \u201cyou\u201d that goes on and on no matter what?
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Even though we never feel it, the atoms that make up our bodies are constantly being replaced.\u00a0It\u2019s estimated that the 1027<\/sup> atoms in an average human being (that would be 10 followed by 27 zeroes \u2013 a very big number) are swapped out every seven years or so.\u00a0Thus if you\u2019ve ever thought that you\u2019re not quite the same person you were just before the 2020 pandemic, it\u2019s because you quite literally aren\u2019t.\u00a0
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Each one of us is a living, breathing ship of Theseus. We\u2019re the same. But different. But somehow still the same.
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It\u2019s worth noting that the atoms that used to hang out in your body may go away, but they don\u2019t disappear.\u00a0They\u2019re just hanging out somewhere else.
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Scientists state confidently that each of us is currently \u201chome\u201d to a number of atoms that have been part of virtually any historical figure you can name.\u00a0About a billion of your atoms were at one time or another a part of Julius Caesar, Elizabeth I, Frederick Douglas, Babe Ruth, and Eleanor Roosevelt.\u00a0
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Elvis may have left the building, but he left his atoms behind.\u00a0It takes a little longer for the atomic recycling of the recently deceased, but it\u2019s likely that each of us right now owns a little bit of what used to be the King of Rock and Roll.
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Which brings us to a much more interesting and redemptive observation:\u00a0Physicists estimate that at least one billion<\/em> of your atoms were once part of the King of the Universe, Jesus of Nazareth.
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This is where the Problem of the Self truly comes into focus. Yes, we share some of the physical components that were once part of God\u2019s own Son, who entered his own creation. But that clearly does not mean we are Jesus, or any other figure from the past. We are still \u201courselves\u201d in a unique and special way.
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What does that mean?
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The 20th<\/sup> century sociologist Erving Goffman popularized the notion of \u201cimpression management.\u201d Goffman suggested that there\u2019s no such thing as a human self. You are just the sum total of the masks you wear in various social situations \u2013 the impressions you try to make as you go from one conversation, one meeting, and one encounter to another.
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Peel back all of your masks like the layers of an onion, and there\u2019s no \u201cyou\u201d anywhere to be found.
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The authors of Scripture could not disagree more.
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Throughout the Bible, human beings are identified as image bearers of the living God. Old Testament psalmists address themselves as a \u201csoul,\u201d a uniquely crafted whole person: \u201cBless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name\u201d (Psalm 103:1).
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Your soul is what has endured all the changes you have already gone through, and all the changes that still lie ahead.
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And if you belong to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is renewing \u2013 \u201cmaking new\u201d \u2013 your very soul.
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The apostle Paul reminds us that \u201cthough outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).
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Jesus declares, \u201cWhat does someone gain by winning the whole world at the cost of his true self?\u201d (Mark 8:36). Nothing matters more than letting Jesus continue the work of renewing our very souls.
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Having just read these words to my wife, my wisest and most faithful critic, Mary Sue made the comment that this was one of the tougher reflections for her to receive and understand \u2013 that the notion of the ship of Theseus and inheriting one billion atoms from Genghis Khan might not be the most natural way to communicate God\u2019s Good News.
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If that happens to be where you are right now, let me offer some final thoughts:
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There is something about you \u2013 something God-created and uniquely special \u2013 that is enduringly you<\/u><\/em>.
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And the one and only you has been called, chosen, forgiven, and redeemed by the God who has promised to grace you with his love forever.


<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here\u00a0People change. We have the wedding pictures to prove it.\u00a0But how do we know that the figure in that long-ago snapshot is the same person we can share coffee with today?\u00a0This is what psychologists call the Problem of the Self. Is there something lasting and durable at the core of every human… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5207,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1074,502,921,1073],"class_list":["post-5206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-atoms","tag-identity","tag-self","tag-soul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5206"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5208,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5206\/revisions\/5208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}