The Message
The disciples are asked two questions -- who do the crowds say that Jesus is, and who do they say he is. There's a charge for us here -- we need to pay attention to the world, and we need to pay attention to ourselves.
It's tempting to shut the door to the outside world, to lock out all the bad and form a tight-knit Christian community that is only inward-facing. And Christian community is a wonderful thing, but it needs to be engaged with the outside world in some way. We're called to know what the outside world thinks. How else can we frame our message if we don't know the recipients of the message?
We're also called to have an answer for ourselves, to build our own faith. We can't live off the faith of a family member or friend or pastor. We need to build our own faith. This may mean we have to ask some tough questions to figure things out for ourselves, to dig a little deeper to ensure a solid foundation. It may mean we need to grow in certain directions. It might mean we need to work a little harder. But we need to know the answer to the question, each and every day -- who do you say that Jesus is?
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