Hosea put it well:
I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.
In the place where they yelled out, “You’re nobody!”
they’re calling you “God’s living children.”

Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:
If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
and the sum labeled “chosen of God,”
They’d be numbers still, not names;
salvation comes by personal selection.
God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name.
Arithmetic is not his focus. 

(Romans 9:25–28, MSG)

That’s just who I am
implies “so I can do or say whatever I wish”
implies “I’m not responsible for the outcome or result”
implies “so just deal with it”
implies “I cannot or will not change”

That’s just who I am
a justifying statement
a limiting statement
a statement of no faith

What if…
It’s not just who I am
but it’s the result of pain I’ve endured
or experienced that I am trying to avoid
It’s not just who I am
but it’s the walls I’ve erected
to do everything I can to protect myself
from future pain
It’s not just who I am
but it’s the pattern I’ve developed
the voices I listen to
the easier way than trying to change

Who am I?
Better yet, who can I be in Christ?

A reflection after reading Romans 12:9-21