Identity Is Not the Finish Line. Yet there is a danger in stopping there. It is easy to rediscover something about our history, feel proud about it and move on. But I think the deeper challenge is what we do with that knowledge.
The Question That Stayed With Me
I remember sitting in front of the television, watching a talent show, when a young lady began delivering a beautiful poem about Africa. She spoke about the continent's beauty, its resources, its people and its struggles. Then came a line that stayed with me:
"The richest continent with the poorest people."
It struck me.
In many ways, it seemed true. Africa is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, yet many of its people continue to grapple with poverty, underdevelopment and dependence. For a continent with so much to offer, I found myself wondering: How did we get here? And is this really all there is to our story?
Years later, Beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia brought that question back to mind, but from a completely different perspective.
A Story I Hadn't Seen Before
I had read the Bible for years, but I had never really stopped to consider Africa's place in its story.
Egypt, Ethiopia and other parts of Africa appear repeatedly throughout Scripture. Egypt provided refuge for Jesus and His family. Jethro offered Moses counsel that shaped his leadership. Simon of Cyrene carried the cross of Jesus. The Ethiopian eunuch encountered the Gospel and became part of the early spread of Christianity.
These stories were not new to me. What was new was the way I was seeing them.
Africa was not simply somewhere in the background. Africans and African nations were present at different points in a story that has shaped the faith of millions.
That realisation made me think about how easily we can overlook what is right in front of us simply because we have never been taught to look at it from a particular perspective.
The Stories We Inherit
Perhaps this is where the question of identity became most significant for me.
We don't form our understanding of ourselves in isolation. We inherit stories. We inherit narratives about our people, our history and what we are capable of. Over time, these narratives can become so familiar that we stop questioning them.
One of the ideas that challenged me was the belief that Africa is cursed because of the sins of our ancestors. Looking more closely at the biblical genealogies and the events from which this belief is often derived challenged the basis of that narrative.
And that matters.
Because what we believe about our past can influence what we believe is possible for our future.
If a continent comes to see itself as cursed, forgotten or destined to remain behind, those beliefs can become limiting in themselves. But when we begin to recognise a different story, one in which Africa has always had a place in God's purposes, something begins to shift.
Not necessarily our circumstances immediately, but our perspective.
Identity Is Not the Finish Line
Yet there is a danger in stopping there.
It is easy to rediscover something about our history, feel proud about it and move on. But I think the deeper challenge is what we do with that knowledge.
If Africa is important, then we must begin to think like people who believe that it is important.
If Africa is capable, then our actions should demonstrate that capability.
That requires a practical mindset shift.
It means moving beyond narratives of dependence and asking what we can create, what we can solve and what we can contribute. It means taking responsibility rather than constantly looking outward for someone to fix what is within our capacity to change.
And perhaps this is where identity becomes more than a feeling. It becomes a responsibility.
From What We Have to What We Can Become
This part of the reflection resonated with me particularly as I continue my own leadership journey.
Leadership requires us to examine the beliefs we carry about ourselves and the people we lead. If we approach problems believing that change is impossible, we have already limited our response before we begin.
But a healthy understanding of identity can produce something different: confidence without arrogance, ambition without entitlement, and responsibility without excuses.
Africa certainly has challenges. Poverty, corruption, unemployment, inequality and many other issues are real. A shift in mindset does not mean pretending these problems don't exist.
It means refusing to allow them to become the definition of who we are.
Our History Should Give Us Purpose
One thought I keep returning to is: History should not only give us pride; it should give us purpose.
Discovering Africa's place in the biblical narrative has given me a greater appreciation for the continent I come from. But more than that, it has made me think about the responsibility that comes with that identity.
Africa is still important.
Africa is still capable.
And perhaps the question we should be asking is no longer simply "What happened to Africa?" but "What are we going to do with what we have?"
We cannot rewrite the past. But we can change the way we understand it, the way we see ourselves, and ultimately the way we show up in the world.
Maybe that is where change begins: with a different story, a different mindset, and people willing to act on both.
Written by fellow Victoria Harry Mills
