Jesus was traveling from town to town. Everywhere He went, He performed miracles. He healed people. He spoke with an authority no one had ever heard before. He raised people from the dead. He walked on water. He fed 5,000 men with a meal meant for only one little boy.
And everywhere He went, people asked, "Who is this man?" There were almost as many answers as there were people who asked the question. Some said He was the carpenter's son. Some called Him teacher. Some even called Him possessed. No matter what they decided, their response to Him reflected their answer. Those who called Him the carpenter's son couldn't see past the neighbor they'd known for 30 years; those who called Him teacher listened to what He had to say and moved on with their lives. Those who called Him possessed refused His healing and His instruction.
But a few called Him Messiah. A few called Him Lord. And those few followed Him. They allowed Him to radically change their lives, and through them, the world.
The first time I remember being asked "Who is God to you," I was on a mission trip in Atlanta. We were doing a ministry called "God Is..." Each person on the team was to create a sign declaring who God is to him or her. The night before we hit the streets, I was trying to decide my answer when God asked me, "Who will you let Me be?" It took several hours for me to arrive at the answer I desperately wanted to be true:
Although I will always aim for God to be my everything, the particular role He fills changes frequently. He is Lord, Savior, Counselor, Healer, Redeemer, Best Friend. Most recently, He has asked to be my hope. Letting Him be my hope means looking forward to what He has for me. It means trusting Him that things will turn out for the best even if it's not the way I want.
There comes a time when we must all decide how we will respond to Jesus. And to do so, we must determine who He is. He wants to be your everything. Sometimes, that requires just accepting Him in one more role each day. As you learn how to accept Him in each role, you can also respond to Him in that role.
Join the conversation: Who do YOU say He is? Who will you let Him be, and what response will that role demand?
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| Some of the answers my friends gave to "Who is God to you?" |
