Who Do You Say I Am ? – July 2020

We have come to the mountains for our annual family trip to the “wilderness” to disconnect, unplug, unwind, rewind, and reconnect in order to hopefully plunge back into life with a renewed sense of understanding and direction.

Waking up our first morning, I sat on the dock, watching the horizon as the sun rose from behind the mountaintops, but the fog hung dense and thick - obscuring any view of the lake and sunrise.

I sat… all alone in the perfect silence of the morning - hemmed in by the fog - unable to see more than a few feet in front of me. 

And in the quiet, I heard Him whisper, “Who do you say I am?”

2020 so far has been such a strange year. What began with “normalcy,” continues with anything but… Daily, we strive to find purpose and meaning, truth and direction in a season that swirls with chaos, confusion, manipulation, and control. 

And yet, He continues to whisper, “Who do you say I am?”

I unfastened my boat, set my oars in place, and plunged straight into the thick, dense fog. Morning, here in the mountains, offers a glorious opportunity to explore and discover. 

I found  myself shrouded in utter silence except for the slapping of the waves on the side of my boat. Momentarily, the sun pierced through the fog giving way to a clear view of the lake before it was encompassed again by thick fog. 

I paddled toward the Light...

And again, I heard Him whisper, “Who do you say I am?”

Each of the four gospels in the New Testament gives the same account of Jesus sitting with his disciples one day as he asked them a direct question, “Who do you say I am?”  The first words of their reply, though, only relays what everyone else says about Him. 

And yet, with typical and intentional grace, Jesus asked them again, “Who do YOU say I am?”

Had they walked alongside the Son of God - day in and day out - caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, listening to the teachings… only to have it fill their days with busyness, but not transforming their searching hearts? 

Did they listen to the critics, the Pharisaical leaders, the crowds of sheep without a shepherd and nod in ignorant agreement to the modern thinking of the day… while Truth slept soundly in the bottom of their boat and Wisdom debated on the temple floor? Did they agree wholeheartedly that the people needed a great leader to save them from the tyranny of the day… even as the Way, the Truth and the Life led them alone to the mountaintop to pray? 

Had they not yet understood that the One with whom walked, ate, slept, and traveled had not left Heaven only to bring about political and cultural change? The One with whom they walked had come to REDEEM the hearts of His beloved Creation… the very image of Himself. He had come to SAVE humanity. He had come to bring answers, clarity, and wisdom to the deepest questions of every searching human heart…  HE brought their answer.  

He brought HIMSELF. 

And that day, when He sat with his beloved disciples and asked, “Who do YOU say I am?,” He was certainly not looking to have those with whom He walked spout off what everyone else thought. He desired to pierce the hearts of those He LOVED. His beloved. His clarification of their initial reply graciously invited them to shut out the sounds and cries of all the mainstream voices to answer only to HIM.  

The One who stills the wind and the waves. The One who created the world from nothing and formed them in their mother’s womb… The One who left the splendor of Heaven to walk among the lowly… a King born among the poor to bring HOPE for every human heart. 

He was asking those who would be tasked to care for others upon His return to His Father’s side. He was asking those on whom He would build His church. He was asking those who would find themselves martyrs and sufferers for His sake.  He was asking those who would deny Him three times, yet walk on water to be by His side. He was asking missionaries, evangelists, teachers, preachers, parents, and children...  Fishermen and tax collectors, businessmen and entrepreneurs. 

He knew that if they understood WHO HE IS - they would forever be transformed. The entire world will be changed by their understanding and their influence would be exponential. 

In this season of chaos and confusion… He continues to whisper, “My child, who do YOU say I am?” 

We would do well to search our hearts to answer Him truthfully. Proverbs says,  “... the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”  And how we need some truth and knowledge right now!  Scientific knowledge, academic knowledge, financial knowledge, relationship knowledge… knowledge for many, many things. 

Proverbs 8 reminds us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom… Wisdom being the name for Jesus Christ in the book of Proverbs. 

As I rowed back to the shoreline, in the midst of the rising, thick fog… I began my reply… 

“You are good, faithful, loving, and just. Holy. 
You are wise, kind, compassionate, and long-suffering.
You are patient, enduring… 
You are Peace...”

We may be hemmed in on each side by uncertainty and chaos, we may need answers to more questions like never before. We may feel as though our horizon only looks like thick, dense fog. But when we know Truth, He takes our humble willingness to submit, imparts knowledge, and we find Wisdom for Life…. 

Because of who He is.