November 8- John 1:42

THE VERSE

He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).
~John 1:42

THE THOUGHT

The audacity of Jesus here is both amusing and astounding. In this passage, Andrew has just brought his brother Simon to meet Jesus. A typical introduction, you would think, would go something like this: "Hi, my name is Simon." "Hi, my name is Jesus, nice to meet you." Jesus, however, is far from typical, and as usual immediately sets the conversation on His own terms. "So your name is Simon? Not anymore; now your name is Peter."

Who does that?? Who, in an introduction, changes the name of the person they are meeting? Normal people don't do that. But Jesus isn't normal, and again and again we see how His sovereignty and authority changes the way we relate to Him. He doesn't let us relate to Him on our terms, but instead demands relationship based on how He relates to us. Our identity is not what's important in approaching Jesus. Rather, what matters is His identity and how that identity changes us.

What good news this is! Jesus has the authority to change our identity. And that's exactly what He does to us in the Gospel. We come to Him with the identity "Sinner," or "Lost," or "Confused," or "Alone," and like Simon he says to us, "So, your identity is Sinner? Not aymore; now your name is Saint. Once you were my enemy; now I call you friend. Once you were lost, now you are found. Once you were dead, now you are live. Once you were alone; now you are My child forever."

THE PRAYER

Jesus, Your authority over my identity still surprises me. Open my eyes to see who You really are; You are the God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. You create and sustain, and we are no more or less than You say we are. Give me faith to trust that I am who You say I am: your beloved one forever.

EXTENDED READING

John 1:35-42
Romans 4:17-18
Ephesians 2:12-13
1 Peter 2:9-10

THE QUOTE

"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were those who thought most of the next... Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in.’ Aim at earth and you will get neither." ~C.S. Lewis

THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

Ezekiel 22-23
Job 8
John 9:1-12
1 John 1