Matthew 14:33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

You can’t really be a disciple unless you know whom you are following. Different groups label Jesus in different ways. Muslims and JWs deny the divinity of Jesus, and Mormons say He was the brother of Satan. Apart from such formal groups, many so-called Christians are very hazy about the divinity and the humanity of Jesus. It is ironic in the extreme that some people who have been to seminary and have “divinity degrees” aren’t really convinced of the divinity of Jesus! The 12 Apostles had lived with Jesus enough that they were very aware of His humanity, and this incident cemented their conviction of His divinity. I frequently explain to people that Jesus had to be fully human in order to take on the sins of mankind on the cross as our representative, but He had to be fully divine for His one death to be sufficient to atone for us all. On a day-to-day level, we need to be fully assured of His divinity in order to trust Him fully with all the details of our lives. We are all too prone to forget that nothing is too difficult for Him! (Jeremiah 32:27) It is only when we understand His humanity, that He genuinely knows and empathizes with what we’re going through, (Hebrews 4:15, 5:2) as well as His divinity, that nothing we can encounter compares with His wisdom and power, that we fully walk as His disciples. This is the basis on which He said that those who believe in Him would do greater things than He did in His earthly ministry. (John 14:12) Such people are His disciples indeed.

I know all of this in my mind; the issue is whether I live it out. I teach others about Jesus all the time. How well do I practice what I preach? I have long known that James 1:22 applies directly to me, because I am very familiar with the Bible, but I must be careful not to confuse knowledge with obedience. It doesn’t matter if I’m a walking concordance, if I’m not living out God’s truth. On the particular issue here, I need to be fully assured that Jesus not only knows how I feel, He isn’t dismissing it as unimportant, because He has allowed my circumstances to train and strengthen me. And of course, by His grace I will emerge on the other side as more than a conqueror. (Romans 8:37) I am very aware of the persecution and martyrdom that is going on even at this moment, and I know that I am in no way superior to those brothers and sisters in Christ, and that eventually, we will all celebrate Christ’s victory together before the throne. That will be glorious indeed!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You that I got the tickets for our trip next month paid for yesterday. Thank You for Your plans for today. Help me flow with Your Spirit throughout today, allowing You to use me to do Your will on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!