For some time now, we have been in the mire of something called "spirituality," which in my experience tends to be decidedly anti-traditionalist, anti-institutional, amorphous, vague and therefore undemanding.

Spirituality is what I feel when I feel better than I did before I felt it. It is a big, accomodating basket into which I can put almost anything I want to feel about the "higher power," or "spiritual force," or "my own little voice," or whatever I call whatever it is that makes me feel better.

Just for now, I'm trying to discipline myself, whenever I hear someone around here say "spirituality," to think "idolatry." --William H. Willimon, professor of Christian ministry at Duke University in Durham, NC, from an interview in Leadership, Winter 2002.

Peter's confession of Christ in Matthew 16 is pretty important. It's a pretty big deal when someone (besides yourself) says that you are the son of God. We were discussing this passage last night at church, and these thoughts came to mind...

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 Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven..."

Jesus truly was "The Master Teacher" as so many have called Him. He knew psychology--shoot, He invented it.* He drew the disciples' attention in with an easy question that would get their brains turning. "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Simple enough. Not very threatening, so they just stated public opinion.

Suddenly, Jesus makes it very personal. He forced the disciples to make a judgement on the spot. If they were just following him for the excitement or adventure, it was time to leave; now-or-never, so to speak. Jesus drew a line in the sand. There was no longer any time for slackers. By asking this question, he was shoving them to the next level, spiritually speaking. The time was short. Soon, he would be entering Jerusalem and be crucified. It was time to get real.

Even as I write this, the magnitude of Peter's confession is still coming into focus. "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." No simple statement. The term "Christ" isn't Joseph's last name. It's a Greek term for the Hebrew idea of the Messiah; the Annointed One of God that was prophesied to save His people. It was like Peter was the first one of the disciples to take all of the pieces from Old Testament prophesy, Jesus' miracles, His claims about Himself, His authority, and put it all together. "You are the Christ..." In that moment it all became clear--to Peter and the whole world.

That day, the disciples were suddenly confronted with a qestion that we must all eventually answer. Who do you say that Jesus is? Just a Godly man? A spiritual guide? A great hoax?

I think that this is a question that we must not only answer with our mouths, but also our lives. It's easy to give the response that some of my youth group did last night: An excellent guy. The saviour. Son of God, etc. It's easy to speak some abstract phrase, but what do you really think about Him?

To conclude, I would urge you to seriously answer the question, "Who do you say that I am?" It should clear up a lot of issues in your struggle to find Jesus. I'm not going to tell you what the "right" answer(s) is/are. He knows. Shoot, I'm not sure if I know. But I do know that your soul depends upon your response.