If We Ask God Who Does He Think We Are, Hopefully His Answer Will Be One That Tells Us We Are A Good And Faithful Servant!

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

We know that St. Peter’s response to Jesus about who do you say that I am in St. Matthew’s Gospel, was revealed to him by God the Father.  If we asked Jesus the same question about us, what response do you believe you would receive from Him?  It is probably the most profound and intimate question any person can address to another.

As believers, I suppose the first thing we would want to know is if we are living up to the purpose for which He created us, presupposing we know what that is.  The scary part about that is what if we are not worthy of salvation?  And, if that is so, what do we need to correct to make sure we are in the Book of Life.

The reason for addressing God about this is that we need a perfect answer in which we can trust.  Others will not know our heart and what we hear may either distract us from seeking the truth or put us on a path to a different direction.  Time is fleeting and we cannot afford to waste what little we have left to cause more delays.   

To ask this question, we need to realize that God created us out of His love so we could be eternally saved.  He knows as humans we will always face difficulties because the world is based on selfishness towards fulfilling personal desires of wealth, fame and power while we live on the earth.  There is no plan beyond our death.

God realizes this and by His earthly death and resurrection he illustrates for us how much He cares.  In the case of His Apostle Peter, He further indicates that if we strive to be one with Him He extends multiple opportunities such as His forgiveness of Peter when he denied he knew Him.  Jesus relies what is in our heart as the guide to a true relationship between God and us.  Peter’s sorrow for what he said and did is the way God tells what is in our heart.

Each of us has been given a personal set of keys to open our hearts to being one with God in service to others.  To claim them we need to follow His ways of being selfless in all our ways.  Let us take this week to look at what we are doing right as well as what we need to change to be better.  And, maybe, the response from Jesus will be He loves us for what we are doing and will continue His support if we hold true to our obedience of God’s will.

 

Reading 1: Isaiah 22: 19-23
Reading 2: Romans 11: 33-36
Gospel: Matthew 16: 13-20