But What do You Think?
This is re-blogged from Lent this year, when studying Tom Wright’s Lent for Everyone – Mark, this passage was covered
Before you make a decision on something, you may want to canvas the opinion of others. Has anyone else tried this? Do you own one? What do you think? Would you recommend it? Have you been there? Would it work for me?
Mark 8:27-30
Who Is Jesus?
27Jesus and his disciples went to the villages near the town of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “What do people say about me?”
28The disciples answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist or maybe Elijah. Others say you are one of the prophets.”
29Then Jesus asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
“You are the Messiah!” Peter replied.
30Jesus warned the disciples not to tell anyone about him.
And so we return to the “Who is He?” question.
But this time Jesus is asking about himself. What are people saying about me? What’s the word on the street? The disciples give various answers about what people are saying about him, the understanding that is going around.
But them comes the crunch:
But who do you say I am?
Because that’s the really important question. What other people think might be interesting, but what really matters is what each one of us thinks for ourselves.
What do I think about Jesus? What does he mean to me? What effect does he have on my life?
As we continue our faith journey, this has to be a question we need to be able to answer for ourselves. The time for decision comes, when what others are thinking is of interest – but no real importance. It is about us and God, where we stand, what we believe in, and what we are going to do about it.
Lord,
as I take time,
as I reflect on you,
I realise that the important question
is what I think about you,
and what I am going to do about it.
You are the Messiah,
the one who has come to do a new thing
– I pray that you will do it in me
Pam's Perambulation 