LENTEN DEVOTIONAL - Day 17

Respect God

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.”- 1 Peter 3:15a

                  How do you feel about Christ? Who is He to you? Do you know who He is? Do you fully comprehend what He has done for mankind? Have you spent any time thinking about it? People in general find themselves in awe of those individuals that they can see, in addition to the seemingly amazing things they do. We seem to have the deepest respect for them based on their accomplishments, either visible or tangible, that we can actually see with our own eyes. We tend to hold fast to the mantra that “seeing is believing,” and understandably so. There is another phrase that is just as widespread and is applicable here … “your eyes can deceive you” and“you can’t always believe what you see/hear.” So it doesn’t surprise me that so many people have a problem accepting and believing in a Supreme Being they cannot see, hear or touch.  Basketball great Michael Jordan is real, Jesus they’re not so sure about.

            Now Peter was an interesting character in the Bible. He was more than likely loud and forceful. He was no doubt what we would call today a “Type A” personality. He spoke up freely to Jesus and even denied Him to save his own skin just prior to Christ’s crucifixion. So it is interesting, to say the least, that Peter is the one saying to all Christendom “… in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.”  In other words, Peter is saying “be in awe of Christ; have the deepest respect and devote your entire life to Him.” Peter saw it all. He knew all Jesus had done. He ate with Him, touched Him, spoke with Him, listened to Him teach, saw Him perform miracles. He was with Him pretty much all the time. So I think it is fair to say He knew Christ in the most intimate sense of the word. Therefore, in spite of his shortcomings, he should be considered a reliable source, should he not?
           I am sorry to tell you this, but no matter how you slice it, believing will require faith. Believing in any  school of thought or ideology requires faith. How do we know other than the account in Scripture that the Bible isn’t just a fairy tale … a book written centuries ago that has interesting, insightful stories in it and nothing more. We believe because of what the Bible says of itself. We believe because God’s Holy Spirit has quickened our spirit and we know deep down in the farthest recesses of our heart that God is real and His Word is true. We choose to exercise our faith in this manner, rather than some other way or in something else. If faith wasn’t required then it would be illogical to believe in Christianity, because it simply doesn’t make sense to the logical mind. In a faith and trust based system of belief it is easy to believe that God is real, that His Word is literally true and that Christ died for our sins. Now if only we would live like we believed it. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rkeller