The WORD today (see http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080714.cfm) challenges me to work on my relationship with Jesus.
Sharing an excerpt of the gospel:
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The gospel shows us Jesus asking the disciples the question: Who am I to you? He asked them who other people said he was, but it was not important to Jesus. What matters to him is who and what his disciples see him for. Who he is to his disciples. Peter proclaimed that Jesus is the messiah. Jesus then affirmed that it was God who revealed this to Peter, and he said his blessings on Peter as the head of his Church.
Today, God is asking us the same question: Who am I to you? It does not matter what other people say Jesus is. It does not matter what sins we have committed in the past. It does not matter what we intend to do in our lives. What matters for Christ is our answer to his question. And we can only say he is our messiah if we have an intimate and personal relationship with him. if we don’t pray, if we don’t hear mass and take the sacraments, if we don’t read the bible, if we don’t experience Jesus, we cannot honestly say that he is our messiah. Probably we can say that other people say he is, or other people say he is a great and loving God, but unless we build an intimate relationship with Him, we cannot say the same.
We are challenged today.
Aside from building an intimate and personal relationship with Him, we are also challenged to maintain it. In the same gospel, we see Jesus calling Peter as Satan. Ganon kabilis. This should remind us that we should never be too complacent or too confident with our faith. Just because we have experienced him and served him, does not mean we are set for life. The relationship with God should also be maintained. We should work hard to maintain and grow our relationship and love for Jesus. This is the next phase of God’s challenge for us.
Who is Jesus to you? Who is Jesus in your life? Do you put Him first in your life? Do you believe that He is the all loving, all merciful, all powerful God? Do you believe that He can work great things to and through you?
May we find it in our hearts to answer him like Peter did – that he is the Messiah, that he is God in our lives. May we work to have an intimate and personal relationship with Him, and work harder to maintain and grow it.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. I praise and adore you for who you are. Lord, I am so blessed that you are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and that no matter what I do, you will not love me less. I am so grateful to be worshipping the same God that Peter worshipped, and I believe that you will use me in a mighty way the same way you used Peter for your glory. Lord, I ask that you help me live my life proclaiming that you are the Messiah, that you are my God, so that I can bring people to you and glorify you. Help me build and sustain an intimate and personal relationship with you. This I ask in Jesus name, Amen.
Blessed day!
In Christ,
-g-
Ps
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