Jesus And Our Need

Jesus and Our Need

Read: Mark 8:27-30

“But what about you? . . . Who do you say I am?”

Mark 8:29

“I have a great need for Christ; I have a great Christ for my need.”

—Charles Spurgeon

IN WORD We have heard the common answers to this question—good teacher, moral leader, tragic hero, well- intentioned martyr, etc.—and most of us have found them to be insufficient. He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. As a matter of the witness of Scripture and the faith we hold dear, we know this to be true. Many of us have even boldly proclaimed it to others.

But we must ask ourselves this very question. Who do we say He is? Perhaps an even better question would be this: Who do we really—deep in our hearts—believe He is? We must go beyond the pew and the pulpit and into our living rooms and offices for the answer. We must wonder if this is true for us on Wednesdays just as it is on Sundays. We must come down from the mountaintops and answer from the valleys. Why? Because regardless of how long we have been Christians, this answer must be more than theology in our heads; it must be the truth that grips our hearts.

IN DEED When your situation is dire—a relationship has broken, finances are looking impossibly bleak, a disease is pronounced incurable, or tragedy strikes a loved one—who is He? Is He a theological tenet or really your Savior, your Provider, your Healer and Friend? When you are tempted beyond your strength—immoral desires are running rampant, an ethical compromise would seem so easy, or you are pressured to conform to the world’s expectations—who is He? An ancient biblical character or your Righteousness, your Strength, and your Refuge?

Know Him in your innermost being. Jesus doesn’t help us much as the center of our theology; He helps us as the center of our lives.