Thought for the Week
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16)
It was a moment of dramatic faith, as Jesus? disciple Peter came out with his momentous declaration about the identity of his leader. "What faith!" we sometimes hear people say. Or, "I wish I had your faith!" But "faith" is not a blind leap of reckless abandon, or even some kind of commodity, possessed by some and not by others. It is no more than a measured response to a given set of factors. It's never "blind." Faith needs a backcloth. Peter had had these many months of close contact with Jesus. Hed seen him at work, heard his teaching, witnessed his miracles. All this was helpful data, fed into his mindset. We need that too plenty of information!
Faith needs a focus. It's not faith in anything that the Bible speaks of. It's all to do with a Person - and when someone is confronted by Jesus through the testimony of others and the impact of the Scriptures - belief in him as "the Christ" can be built up. Faith needs a trigger. For Peter, a question did the trick. "Who do you say I am?" For us it can be a book, a sermon, even ten minutes thought.
Oh, anyone can have faith in Jesus! How much data are you receiving?
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