Friday, July 13, 2012

Life's Q&A

"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in the balance?"
Isaiah 40:12

At times, we really need to wrestle with questions from the Lord, don't we?
When we get too big for our britches, when we forget our place, when we forget our God, questions like these wrest us from our stupor and restore us to sanity.

Jesus asks the best questions:
To his eager disciples, resolute to follow him wherever he might lead, whatever the threat, he asks, "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" (Matthew 20)
To teachers of the law blinded by their self-righteous pursuit, he asks, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" (Mark 3)
To his disciples, faced with the overwhelming thought of feeding 4,000 people in a remote place, he asked, "How many loaves do you have?" (Mark 8)

Perhaps the greatest question of all came in Mark 8, as Jesus gathered his disciples to talk. 
He first asked, "Who do people say I am?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Peter had an answer ready.  He rose to the occasion.
During the lunch hour in Decatur, Alabama yesterday we polled the people on the street.
We asked them this very question, and most of them were tongue-tied.  I was surprised at how many Christians struggled to articulate their faith, to answer this question with confidence.  That's a shame.  The church, the people inhabited by the Holy Spirit should be ready at any moment to give a reason for the hope that we have.  Are you?

Give it a shot with a reply right here... Who is this Jesus?  




2 comments:

  1. Peter said it pretty well "You are the Messiah, the Christ". Savior of this world, and praise God, mine too!

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    Replies
    1. I like it, John. Great answer. One of my favorite answers to this question was given by S.M. Lockeridge. Check out this video if you get a chance:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upGCMl_b0n4

      As for me, Jesus is my Savior, my Lord, my brother, my inspiration. He is my bread, my light, my way, my truth, my life. I can't say enough about Him.

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