Anonymous
LUke 9:18-27
8 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
There is a painting by William Holman Hunt painted in the early 1850’s in England which pictured Jesus knocking at the door which is titled “The Light of the World”. The vegetation around the door gives one the impression that it had not been opened for a long time. The door was also painted with no door knob on the outside, so it could only be opened from the inside. Hunt was illustrating the need for us on the inside to open our hearts to the Lord.
Now, who in their right mind would open a door without first answering the question “who is at the door,” or in other words for today’s scripture who do you say that I am? Most, if not all of you, reading this today have answered this question and have invited Jesus to come into your heart as Lord and Savior. The “Great Room” behind the door is now well swept, clean, and not full of clutter.
But there is a deeper question that I have for you, and it involves the many rooms in our heart. Have we placed a door on a room or two where we tell the Lord, “Please Lord I am not ready to show you, or give up what is in there, to you”? Because this gets to the root of “Who do you say that I am”?
Do we believe that Jesus knows the number of hairs on our heads and everything about us? Have we turned over all things to Him who loves and adores us? Or have we placed a few strategic things behind closed doors in our heart?
This passage also speaks of taking up your cross to follow Jesus. I recently read the following, which reminded me of this passage: “In a world that includes misguided and unflattering sentiments towards Jesus, those who believe in Him can show how precious He is by honoring Him through thoughtful, caring actions that may cost us time, money, or things we value. Honoring Christ by loving others is still a beautiful thing.”
Prayer Prompts:
Ask the Lord to reveal to you if there are any closed doors in your heart, and how those doors can be opened to him.
Pray for God’s insight on how to love others well today.
