Who do you say I am?

So, Margaret Thatcher has died and the papers and news reports are either praising or scathing. She was either the best Prime Minister of the last century or the one who turned Britain into a crueller and more selfish nation.

It all depends on your perspective.

At the end of the day, which she has reached, God’s perspective is the only one that counts. It is the only one that is completely just and fair. He is the only one who knows all the circumstances, all the secret thoughts, all the motivations and aspirations and disappointments and hurts. 

We have no right to judge another person. Jesus said to take the plank out of our own eyes before we try to remove the splinter from someone else’s. In other words, we are all flawed. We have all messed up and made poor choices, have hurt people and left things unfinished which might have benefited others. And we have all done some good things, too. Things that people have noticed, and things that have gone unseen. 

Only God knows.

But the Bible teaches that our salvation doesn’t depend on how much good or bad we have done. Our salvation depends on how we see Jesus. If we see him as just a good man who taught some sensible things, we have missed the point. We need to dig deeper, to look at what he said about himself, to allow him to speak to us through the Bible and through others so that we understand that in fact, he is who he says he is. The Son of God. The Alpha and the Omega. The Saviour of the world, who died for our sins and rose again triumphant over death.

We will stand before the Judgment throne of God one day and have to give account for ourselves. For those who try to justify their actions by circumstances, it will be a pretty scary time. For those who know that their sins are their own responsibility, but who also know that Jesus paid the price for our sins, it will be a time of rejoicing – not that we ‘got away with it’ but that we recognise the incredible love that Jesus has for us, that made him willing to endure all that he did so that we could spend eternity with him.

More than once, Jesus asked people, ‘Who do you say I am?’ 

Your answer to that question is the most critical answer you will ever be asked to give. From the perspective of eternity, it is absolutely worth spending time considering, looking into, wrestling with. From the perspective of life on earth, it makes all the difference to the quality of every day. 

A relationship with Jesus Christ is the most wonderful thing about life. Hearing his voice, being encouraged and comforted by his Spirit, being united with others who know him and love him, starts now and carries on into eternity.

And yet, so many people allow the busyness of life to distract them from its central question.

‘Who do you say I am?’