"Who do you say that I am?"

It was Wednesday morning. The boys and I were sitting around (because we homeschool) and John said, “It’s hump day.” I thought to myself, lazily, that it was somewhat remarkable that he knew that term. Sometimes I don’t like to waste too much effort on unnecessary speaking, but, after a moment, I said, “You know where that term came from?”

“Uh uh.”

“It came from an old radio DJ in Chicago, Steve Dahl.”

“No, it didn’t,” Daniel piped up.

“Yes, it actually did,” I affirmed.

“How do you know that? It did not.”

“Yes, it did. I know, because I was there.”

“When was it?”

“It was in the seventies. It was never a saying before that.”  They dropped the subject after that, but I’m pretty sure they still didn’t believe me.

I get their incredulity. I mean, how often do we actually witness the origin of such a widespread term, so pervasive that it has actually become a common part of language? Perhaps Dahl did not personally invent the term, I don’t know. But before that, it was not well known, or commonly used. In any case, I remember the beginnings of that being a thing people say. My kids do not because they were not there. They can take my word for it, or not.

I don’t always believe what people say. In fact, I’m pretty skeptical. Some people are not trustworthy. Others, however, are. A person can prove their words by their actions. I have heard someone say that Jesus did not exist. That person was not there, but his disciples were. 

One of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, writes: “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”—2Pet.1:16.  Another disciple, John, writes: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” –1John 1:1

It is very exciting that we have the words of people who were actually with Jesus. These men and women suffered great persecution in order to bring us this good news, this Gospel. Tradition holds that Peter, and most of the other disciples, were killed for proclaiming this news. 

What is this Gospel, this good news? Well, part of it is that Jesus, God the Son, became a man, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”—John 1:14  For me, here was a big question I grappled with: Who is Jesus? It was something I had to come to terms with for myself. Either believe the eyewitnesses, or not. 

After reading and pondering, studying, and wrestling, the decision came in this way: I was looking out the window, and thought, “Well, what if Jesus is not who he says he is?”  So, I thought for a moment about what the world would look like to me if I determined that Jesus was not the Son of God--if my perception of things would change--if, say, I would look at a tree and see it as any different. 

Well, that was a very pivotal moment for me.  The thought of even a tree, without Jesus being Who He said He was, was horrific.  Like all the color and the beauty went out of it, and the world, and there was no hope.  So, I believed. I decided that Jesus is the Son of God.

This is a good question that everyone should ask themselves. Who is Jesus? 

  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”—Matt. 16:15

The Gospel, Part Two

So, I was a fairly happy child to begin with.  When I look back on those times, I know that I never felt truly alone, though I was pretty independent for a kid my age.  I know now that God was with me then.  And although I may have seen the big blue sky that reached out forever, I was focused on earth, and the people around me. I was all about relationships.  Even then, I liked the one-on-one kind of relationship. Like I had with the old man next door, or with Camille.

This brings me to my first point on the actual topic, which is the Gospel.  The Gospel is all about  relationships. God has created us for relationships. I don’t know if everyone is like me, but I’m guessing we’re all somewhat similar. One-on-one relationships are something I need.  Undivided attention and focus are necessary to go deep with another person. My soul cannot survive if I am isolated.  I believe we all deeply need to be connected, that God has created us this way, and that we are created in His image. This need for relationship is so foundational to being human, so significant, that I believe it points us back to our Maker. He is relational.

When I talk about God, I am talking about the God of the Bible.  I can flip through its pages and find innumerable passages that show He is relational.  Okay, here we go. I just randomly flipped it open, and what do I find? The Ten Commandments.  Here we see God clearly speaking to his people.  And what is the first one? “Thou shalt have none other gods before me.” Is that not wonderful? He is jealous for our hearts, and I mean that in a reverent way. That God condescends to put up with our persistent wandering from him is mind-blowing. It is also evidence of his gracious and merciful nature and his great love for us.

I had a special relationship with Camille.  We were besties. We sat next to each other at coloring time, at juice and cookie time, and took our naps on cots next to each other. She lit up my world, and I still remember her to this day. I would not have wanted to share the special place I had with her.  Alas, sadly, I had to move to a different school and never saw her again.  At the new school, I quickly gravitated toward a girl who reminded me of Camille.  Her name was Pat. But Pat was not Camille, and apparently she thought I was pretty weird. Camille could not just be replaced.

I didn’t have a choice about leaving Camille. And sometimes we don’t have a choice about losing those we love. But there is one who will never leave us, though we leave Him often. I just flipped my Bible open again and it says, “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” –Isa. 43:1 Is this not the kind of God I would want? One who made me, knows me, and truly, deeply wants a relationship…with me?

The Gospel, Part One

Merriam-Webster defines the Gospel as "the message concerning Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation."  It is my desire to share the Gospel with others.  However, I find it difficult, if not impossible, to put it all in a nutshell.  Therefore, I am going to try each day to describe a facet of the Gospel as best I can.

When I was a very little girl, I can remember standing on the sidewalk in my neighborhood.  The grass was green, the sky blue, and neat little houses stood in neat little rows.  I did not worry about things much then. The world was my stomping ground and I was pretty fearless (well, except for a few things, like Simon Bar Sinister, tomato hornworms, and the patterns in my bedroom curtains at night...) Well, okay, I guess I was not fearless. But I was not afraid of rollercoasters, riding on the back of my dad's motorcycle, charging around the neighborhood by myself, or people. I was not afraid of people.

I would boldly go up to any kids on the block, or the next block, and ask them to play. And I wouldn't really take "no" for an answer.  I also made friends with the old people next door, which is where I learned about tomato worms. In nursery school (what we used to call preschool) I had a best friend, Camille. I loved to see her every day and we were always together. The joy of her friendship did not stop me from clinging desperately to my dad's leg, pleading for him not to leave me each morning.  But for the most part, I had confidence back in those days. I was an optimist, outgoing, content.

As you can see I am not any good at all with nutshells.  This is getting too long so I will continue tomorrow.

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” --Matt. 13:31-32