discovering our identity...

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him... "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church..."

Matthew 15:15-18

last thursday i wrote on peter's confession at caesarea philippi, as it was the lectionary for the day (if you all haven't noticed, that is where i get the scripture i comment on). any way, today in class one of my classmates offered a pretty insightful thought into Jesus' comment back to peter in this parallel passage in matthew.

my classmate stated that it was only after peter recognized who Jesus was that Jesus was able to tell peter who he was, giving peter his identity in light of who he had discovered Jesus to be. you see, it is only when we have a clear understanding of Jesus that we are able to discover who we are and what we are here for.

so often in life we are so confused about who we are and our purpose here on earth. we look for our identity in all sorts of things... our profession, our possessions, our family, our friends, etc. nothing seems to satisfy though. and we come to wrong conclusions about the negative aspects of ourselves. we convince ourselves that we are just inherently pessimistic, or fearful, or impatient, or untrusting, or easily frustrated, or whatever. we say things like, "that is just who i am." but is that really who God created us to be? i have a feeling that God didn't create us to be things that are unbecoming of His own character. remember, we were created in His image. instead, we have allowed circumstances to place on us these identities.

peter's identity must have been challenging for him to accept, for Jesus gave him a pretty big task. his task was to love and feed the flock of God. peter could have said, "Jesus, i don't think that is such a good idea. You know - i mess up a lot. i am hard-headed. i have problems trusting. i messed up walking on water. i ask stupid questions. i am a little slow. in just a second, you are going to call me satan. in a few days, you are going to get mad at me for wanting to stay up on the mountain to build huts for You, elijah, and moses. in Your time of greatest need, i am going to deny You three times. really, i am just a screw up." instead, in understanding who Jesus was, peter knew that this task could be accomplished. this is because it was God, Lord of all creation, who had spoken this to him. if anyone knows who you are, it is the One who created you.

in fact, God is the only One who knows who you are. so may we stop listening to the world, which tells us we have to prove ourselves and earn our way, and start listening to the One who whispers words of love and affirmation because these things have already been earned on our behalf.

friends, if you want to know who you are and what you purpose is, then figure out who Jesus is. you will discover your identity in Him.

cheers,

jw <><

by the way, thanks james!