[Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Who do men say you are?

By Oke Chinye

Read: MATHEW 16:13-20

Meditation verse:

“He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” (Mathew 16:15).

As you interact with people daily, they form impressions about you which inform  who they think you are. Their opinions which are entirely dependent on their  interpretations of what you say and do, may not necessarily be a true  representation of who you are.  

Whilst Jesus was on earth, He ate with sinners, visited the home of a tax  collector, ate without washing Hands, healed on the Sabbath and allowed a  former prostitute to anoint His feet. To Jesus, these were all acts of love- His way  of saying “I do not condemn but love you”. However, the pious Pharisees and  Sadducees saw things differently. Based on their own interpretations, they  called Jesus a wine bibber, breaker of sabbath laws and a friend of sinners and  outcasts. They even accused him of heresy when He said He was the son of God.  Jesus was not distracted by their accusations. He knew who He was remained  focused on the task at hand.  

If you are adversely affected by what others say of you or get distracted, you are  undermining your progress and doing yourself a huge disfavor. The bible says in  Ecclesiastes 7:21, “do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your  servant cursing you”. If Jesus was unfairly and wrongly accused, why do you  suppose you will not be ill spoken of? 

When Jesus wanted to know the truth about what others thought, He asked  those closest to Him, His disciples: “But who do you say that I am?”. If you truly  desire to know what others think of you, ask those closest to you and they will  tell you, warts, and all. But be sure to ask those whose judgement you trust.  

Nothing means anything except the meaning we give to it and the meaning we  give to things differ based on our lens of interpretation. Do yourself a favor stop  whining over what others think about you. You cannot be the most popular  person on earth and focus on what God wants you to do. Let Jesus’ example  encourage you today.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

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