There are two ways of “seeing” and “knowing” Jesus. One is that of the crowd and the other is of the disciples. The crowds saw him as a teacher, a miracle worker and a prophet. They wanted instant answers for their day to day lives, to live a trouble free, comfortable earthly life and for that they went after Jesus. Surely Jesus wants to heal our sicknesses, provide our daily bread and bless us. But there is something more. Jesus came into this world with a specific plan and purpose. In submitting to God’s will, he had to go through rejection, humiliation, suffering, pain and death. But at the end it brought deliverance and defeated sin. God has a plan and a purpose for our lives too. To fulfil that plan, we need the Messiah. He alone can give us inner peace in this life and lead us to eternal life. Do we know him as the disciples – the Messiah of our lives or are we still seeing him as the crowds, from the outside as the One who satisfies our day to day needs? Today let us make Peter’s answer our own.

PRAYER: Abba Father, blessed are you, our rock, our mercy, our fortress, our stronghold, our deliverer and our shield. In you we trust. Amen.