We have labels for everything. We have names. We even have label makers. Have you ever noticed labels also create walls? Labels can create an us vs them situation. Happens all the time. When we label someone, we create a barrier.
Proximity to the ones we label changes our view. We see people then, not the label we have placed. When you meet someone who thinks differently than you. Votes differently. Lives their life with different values and resources. Our culture has taught us to label. Jesus asks us to break these down, coming close enough to share a meal.
A little while back, I wrote a short post about Who God Is. This could just be an ongoing theme, discovering and exploring and learning all about our God. I often think of when Jesus asks who do you think I am?
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
Matthew 16:13-18 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.16.13-18.NASB1995
Jesus asks. Peter gives an answer to what everyone else is saying. Jesus than asks directly, who do YOU say that I am? Listen, there is something here for you and I.
Recently I was asked, how is my Bible reading time going? What changes would you like to make? What do you want to do differently? Stopping and taking an aerial view of my study time was eye opening. I get into a discipline and then, at times, allow the discipline to overtake the joy of being in His word. Making changes, considering, and course correcting. Good stuff..
Jesus made Peter stop and take an aerial view. Day in and day out, Jesus was Jesus. Our friend, leader, teacher, etc. This made Peter stop and truly assess. Without Jesus saying his purpose right here, Peter came back to who He is And that changes everything.
Jesus gives Peter a new name. Jesus gave Peter a small look at his (Peter’s) future. A time when Jesus would not be here in the flesh. Each day with Jesus was one step closer to His death. I bet the name change conversation came up many times.
How do you forget a declaration like Peter’s when there was a name change as well? The story would be repeated, the importance of WHY Peter’s name changed amplified.
Labeling Jesus accurately is one of the most important decisions we make.
Jesus [. . .] told people that their sins were forgiven. [. . .] This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin. [. . .] I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
By spending time accurately sorting Jesus, we do not believe the cultural lie that all roads lead to God. It also changes how I pray. If I know in my heart that my God bodily raised Jesus from the dead, that same power is available to me every time I pray. Just thinking about that…what if I prayed with the confidence of knowing this simple truth?
That my prayer requests, whether answered as I would like or the answer is still forthcoming, are known by God. That when I am praying, I am stilling my heart to be with the God of all creation. Knowing the who, knowing the power, knowing the name changes my prayers.
So, today, as you listen or read the word of God or pray those breath prayers…consider Him. Consider Jesus.
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