04.01.20 - Don't Be Fooled...
Today is April Fool’s Day. Hopefully you will not fall victim to many pranks today…or be the cause of any unruly pranks (remember, you may be shut in at home for a long time so be kind). Our devo today is about what you believe about Jesus. Many people simply believe facts about Jesus, but not everyone places their faith in him. Some religions believe that Jesus was just a good man, or good teacher. C.S. Lewis wrote, “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” (from the book Mere Christianity)
Read Matthew 16:13-18. Israel knew the prophecy that God would send a great prophet to His people. Jesus asked his disciples who they thought He was. Peter spoke up and identified him as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He was saying that Jesus was not merely a good teacher; Jesus was actually the Son of God in human flesh – the key to the disciples’ faith. There is no relationship with God without Him.
So who is Jesus Christ to Christ-followers? If He’s not the Son of the living God, if He didn’t save us from our sins through His death and resurrection, then we’re wasting our lives following a crazy person. Fortunately, we can trust that Jesus is who He says He is. Our faith in Christ binds us together and drives our mission to tell the world the good news. There’s no way to the Father but through Jesus, and there’s no Church without the foundation of Christ.
Questions for Reflection
How does your understanding of Jesus as the foundation of the Church change how you think about all churches across the globe are connected?
Why is it important that you fully believe in the true identity of Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah?
What does your life look like when Jesus is the foundation?