Thought for the Week – 4th June 2016 – Dennis Pethers

This week I am again staying with this passage in Matthew.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 

Matthew 16:13-16

When Jesus asked his disciples the question’ who do people say the Son of Man is?’ they had been following him for a long time.  Jesus was discipling his followers towards a real understanding of who He is and He knew that would be a long process.

Many of the people that we meet in our daily lives have no idea who Jesus is and will never find out unless we ‘disciple them towards faith’.  Again, asking and answering questions is a key part of this process.

I still have some hair and, on a regular basis, it needs to be cut so I visit the barbers and have my hair cut by Jim.  Over a few years I have been able to help Jim to have a very different view of Jesus than he had when we first met.  As a result of more conversations than I can remember Jim no longer thinks that all Christians are religious bigots or that the church is an institution that is disconnected from the ‘real world’.  He has become increasingly interested in the difference that a personal faith makes in a life and may even be interested in attending a church if he thought that the people there would welcome him bearing in mind ‘his life’. 

He has not yet ‘become a Christian’ but when I sit down to have my hair cut his first question is not ‘where are you going for your holiday this year?’ or ‘No work today?’  it is usually a question that continues from where we left off.

Sharing Jesus is an on going conversation.  Who can you begin or continue a conversation with this week?