Who do men say 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.” (ESV) Matthew 16:13-16
The best person to learn from is no other than our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Paul says imitate me as I imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). I have always been one person who is not much concerned about what people think of me. I try to have a limit on what I allow as thoughts of others concerning my life. The reason is that I seek to please God rather than people. But is this right in itself as a Christian? I mean to have limits? Which parts of our lives are off limit from the public eyes and comments?
As Christians journeying in this world, the Bible says “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven – Matthew 5:16”. But what light is Jesus speaking of? God never leaves us with doubts in our mind. The preceding verse says it all - you are the light (vs. 14)!!!
So in attempting to answer the above questions, as Christians, our lives are constantly in the public glare. We are the lights of the world and there is no way the public can function without us in knowing the way. In effect, the world is total darkness without Christians. We see this in the time of Jesus and the apostles as they transformed their world in the best way ever. Today we Christians too have become icons of our time and therefore have the responsibility to transform our world positively.
This is the more reason why we ought to take time to review our status as children of God, in the sight of the people of our time. It beholds on us to do just as Jesus did. Obviously, this isn’t to seek approval from men on what to do but in our case it will be to examine oneself to see if one is still in the faith and doing what is pleasing that qualifies us to be called Christians – 2 Corinthians 13:5.
Have you given a deep thought to the saying, “who do men say I am?” in the light of the Scriptures? What account will men give of you who claim to be a Christian? Today is all the time you have to transform your world positively. Aim to be that light that everyone speaks positively of and can’t function without.