When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some think He is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
“And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.”
Now let me ask you a question. It is an old age question that has baffled human beings from ages past. It is the question of identity. You hear people say that I need to find myself. Know who I am. Without a true identity of who you are, life is meaningless. Have you ever considered how you introduce yourself to people? Maybe you’re at a meeting and are asked to introduce yourself. It will probably go like: hello, my name is Mary and I’m an Engineer. Or hi, my name is Andrea and I’m a business owner. May I propose to you that what you just described is not who you are, but it is what you do. Who you are, is a child of God. That is who you are. An image bearer. You are a spirit being having a physical experience and not the other way around. The flesh will return to the dust from which it came, but the spirit will live eternally, with God hopefully, not in hades. So, you are a spirit, you live in a body, and you have a soul. This is important to grasp.
Jesus told Simon who He really is. That is something of great import and worth dwelling on. Only the One who made you can tell you who you really are. You can not find yourself. What you need to find is the One who fashioned and created you so He can tell you who you are and what you were created to be and do. This is a process, to be able to hear and recognize the voice of God when He speaks takes time, commitment and discipline in God’s Word and prayer. Jeremiah 29:13 Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Whole heartedly.
I like how the Message Bible translation puts this verse “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”
John 10:27 – My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
The only reason the sheep know their shepherd’s voice is because his is the first voice they hear early in the morning as he is taking them out to pasture, it is the voice they hear all throughout the day as he leads them to clean water and safety, and his is the last voice they hear as he leads them back to their shelter for the night. They are constantly in his presence, and they recognize what he sounds like and listen to him because they have learnt through daily experience that his thoughts towards them and his plans for them and the places he guides them to go, all of it is for their good and not harm. It is the same for us and our good Shepherd. We only learn to recognize the sound of His voice by being in His presence constantly.
When Jesus told Simon who He really is, that he is Peter which means rock, Jesus continues and says: that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth.
Once you discover who you really are in God who created you, you discover that you belong to your Father’s Kingdom. And that you have complete and free access to this Kingdom through Jesus, Who is not only the Way but also the door through which you enter in and find all you have been looking for all along. Completeness, fulfilment, yourself!
PIN THIS!
Read more of Rachel’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
