DEVOTION
THE 2ND LETTER OF PETER
THE TRUE STORY
2 Peter 1:16-18
16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his
majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice
came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love;
with him I am well pleased." 18 We
ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the
sacred mountain.
NIV
Peter is making it very clear that he heard
the voice of God give testimony that Jesus was His Son and that He was well
pleased with Jesus. Peter also makes it clear that he saw Jesus in His
transfigured state, His glorified state, shining with some kind of
indescribable glowing. This is to tell those he writes to that anyone else who
comes to them with made-up stories is just that, a fabricator of lies. This
also tells us two truths. The first is one we are so furiously aware of, Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, who came down from heaven taking the form of his
creation to live as an example to us and to die on the cross to take away our
sin. There is absolutely no question regarding this truth. However, we have
known people who refuse to accept that truth and continued to believe without
wavering, that Jesus was just a good man who did good deeds and gave us an
example of how we should live, just as others did, such as Gandhi, Muhammad, or
the Dalai Lama as well as other famous religious leaders throughout history.
This ideology does not accept the divine nature of Jesus, who we are absolutely
confident that he is divine. How else would we be able to explain all the
miracles that God has unfolded before our very eyes? How else could we explain
this faith that permeates our being? How else could we explain the immense
freedom, the peace we have within as we continue to see God do miracles in our
life, because we have Christ in our heart, and His divine nature resting within
us? No, there is no doubt men will always come in their own name, fabricating,
inventing clever stories, making themselves something they are not. But there
is no other name in heaven or on earth that compares to the name of Jesus.
Peter assures us that Jesus is the divine Son of God and that he heard it
direct from the mouth of God. The second truth we glean from this statement of
Peter is that we should always go forth in the name of Jesus. That is we cannot
go forth in any other name, especially ours. Our life is not about making a
mark on society as so many men would desire. Our life is not about leaving a legacy
of our great accomplishments, or our great life. No, our life is about telling
the story of Jesus, about living a life that brings glory to the truth that
Jesus is the Son of God, and that He is alive and has promised that if we ask
anything in His name, God will answer and give us our request. Now, of course,
that does not mean we should ask for a new car, or a million dollars or such,
but that we should ask for what brings glory to the Father and the Son. We also
should not make up clever stories, or testimonies, but only testify to the truth
of what Jesus did for us, that is coming to take us to that sacred mountain. What
we have to make sure is that we tell the true story.
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