Which Christ Is Our Foundation?
December 29, 2007 by pistolpete
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 8:33)
The Apostle Peter, the rock on whom the Church is built, the spokesman for the inner circle of disciples, nonetheless had mistaken notions of who Jesus was. Peter was looking for a triumphant Messiah, God’s Chosen One, who would come with military might and overthrow the corrupt political system of Roman rule. When Jesus started talking about His suffering and impending death, Peter didn’t want to hear anything of the kind. Perish the thought!
But Jesus persisted, even insisting that Peter was so mistaken in his thinking that he was representing Satan (a genuine devil’s advocate). Jesus wouldn’t let such a misperception get in the way of his mission. He let Peter know in no uncertain terms that he’d better wise up or step aside.
If anyone had a close, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, it was Peter. Yet, he was totally mistaken about Christ. One would think he knew the Lord as well as anyone, but what he knew had nothing to do with who Christ really is.
At our best, the foundation of the Church is built on the true, living Christ. The Church has done a lot of great things in the spirit of Christ. Build hospitals. Promote education. Contribute to the end of slavery.
At our worst, however, we have used the name of Christ to further our own selfish and sinful ends. Establish political dominance. Sanction domestic abuse. Attack persons of other faiths.
The Church (and each of us as believers) needs to carefully and prayerfully let God reveal to us the true Christ. Then, we can build our foundation on Him, rather than on images of Christ constructed to suit our own needs and desires.
Eugene Peterson writes –
“In our religious striving, we are usually looking for something quite other than the God who has come looking for us.”
Check out some more devotions on the Church
I couldn’t agree more on both the church and individual levels.
Pistol Pete,
Thank you yet again for an excellent and thought provoking post concerning who and what the true Jesus Christ is to us. Wonderfully stated concerning true Christ-like behavior, versus practicing religious zeal in those last three paragraphs.
Yes, let us not build an idol of convenience proclaiming it in the name of “Jesus”, but rather let the true Christ be true.
Grace and peace be with you
The Pistol fires back: And may the peace of Christ be with you.
Wonderful post, Pete. It is so true that we must be building our foundation on the true Christ, not on the Christ we imagine. You have a great blog presence here. Such a wide scope of content. I love that you have so many categories. :-)
Thanks for stopping by hope road. I appreciate your encouraging words!
The Pistol fires back: Thank you, Anna, for dropping by for Necessary Therapy and leaving a comment. It really means a lot to me coming from such an aspiring young writer as yourself. God bless.