I am not sure about you, I am always trying to decide at the start of a new year if I should have a new resolution or not. As I look back at 2023 and consider the choices I made and how it all turned out a word comes to mind: perspective.

Not in the context of understanding a drawing and its correct proportions in a three dimension view, though it is good to appreciate those, but the attitude towards something or someone. If you know me well, you might be surprised by my choice of word. You might have expected me to say something like faithfulness, goodness, steadfastness and so on. I have much to thank God for His faithfulness, goodness, grace, love, mercies.

Perspective. What is my heart’s attitude towards Jesus? Jesus once asked his disciples in Matthew 16:15

 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

By this time in His earthly ministry, Jesus had visited many places, performed many miracles and taught all those who would gather to hear Him. His fame was going before Him and many were wondering about him, trying to decide who He was based on what they had heard and seen. So in the verses that come right before this one Jesus asked:

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:13-14)

The answers the people gave were not unreasonable as they new from the Old Testament God had promised to send a prophet.

So what does perspective have to do with all of this? I want to consider the question Jesus asked his disciples. “Who do you say I am?” The answer Simon Peter gave Jesus was:

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

This was revealed to Peter by God. What an amazing gift to receive from the Father. Who do I say Jesus is? God has revealed to us in His word from the beginning that Jesus is His Son. The entire Bible points to Him. He is the promised king who came to die for us and to save us. We celebrated that last month.

Do I live my life in such a way to proclaim the truth I believe about Jesus? That is why I need perspective. I need the Bible to be the lenses by which I see the world. Who do I say Jesus is? He is the Son of God who loves me, a sinner, so much that He came and died in my place so I could put my trust in Him and have eternal life. He is my Lord. He reigns in Heaven and one day every knee will bow before Him.

Our society and culture don’t see Jesus as Lord. Some say that if He existed at all, He was just a good teacher, a prophet, a bit of a rebel, a liar. Some will distort His image to fit in with their agendas and blaspheme, declaring that He was homosexual because He loved the men that followed him. Others will even say that He probably was who He said He was but the Bible is but a fantasy. A story, a bit like Harry Potter. The most worrying thing though is that they will try to convince us to think like them. They claim, consciously or unconsciously, that it is better to disregard Him completely. After all, who wants to be under the Lordship of anyone but themselves? “Be yourself!”. “You do You!”. “Sit in the driving seat!”. “You can do it!”. “Conquer the world!”. “You don’t need Jesus!”. “All you need is to love yourself!”. It would be so easy to loose oneself in all the distractions and lies.

So, as 2024 is well on its way, my prayer is that I will keep reading my Bible and hold on to the truth it teaches. I pray that my heart will burn with the desire to learn more about Jesus. I pray that He will be seated on the throne of my life always. May each of my days He ordained, be guided by a biblical and holy perspective. I will share more of what the Bible teaches about Him on my journey. More of Him. Less of me.

What about you? Who do you say Jesus is?

^{Photo by Sixteen Miles Out}