[reprinted from January 12, 2011]
Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?â€
They replied, “He is the son of David.â€
Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,
“The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’
Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?â€
No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. Matthew 22:41-46 (NLT)
I have become quite cynical about the media and their reporting of so-called newsworthy stories. First, their definition and mine on what is newsworthy has some very fundamental differences. There is a lot about a public person’s personal life that I don’t care about and I certainly do not think it is any of my business. Then there is the reporting of facts from the perspective of the reporter or the network/newspaper that will have a spin that reflects their agenda, leaving the validity of the facts in question. Having taken a statistics course I found out quickly that numbers can be presented to mean anything that I want them to mean. And facts can be valid but given out of context to mean something not valid.
Jesus was asking the church leadership to give their report on what they thought about the Messiah, specifically, who was His father. They stepped back from reporting the ‘bottom line truth’ – “He is the Son of God†– and instead tried to take the easy way and avoid the whole deity/man controversy and the Trinity controversy. They refused to stand up for what they believed and instead quoted God’s promise that the Messiah would come through the line of David.
What about me? Whose daughter am I? Do I think of myself as Bob and Marybelle’s daughter? Is who I am today defined by my life experiences? Are my accomplishments seen in a better light if I gloss them over with credentials and the “tragedies†portrayed as great obstacles that I have overcome? [I was actually interviewed once and the reporter spoke about my ‘tragic life’. Give me a break!]
Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has happened at last – the salvation and power and kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ! For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth – the one who accused our brothers and sisters before our God day and night. And they have defeated him because of the blood of the lamb and because of their testimony. And they were not afraid to die. Rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea. For the Devil has come down to you in great anger, and he knows that he has little time.†      Revelation 12:10-12 (NLT)
My life is my life today because Jesus died for me. The blood of Jesus overcomes the filthiness of my sins. My testimony of what Jesus has done in my life and keeps doing in my life overcomes my doubts and encourages me and others as I share that testimony. My son, James, testified through his life and death about the unlimited supply of courage and strength that Jesus will give. That has brought me to the place that I now know the assurance of a life in God’s strength that allows me to say, “I am not afraid!†Whether it is the death of my physical body or the death of myself so that Jesus’ plan lives out in me, I am not afraid. I am a daughter of my LORD and KING.
His Eye Is On The Sparrow written by Civilla D. Martin & Charles H. Gabrial (1905) sung by Lauryn Hill & Tanya Blount
