WHAT DO YOU SEE?

  "...And when Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone." 

John 1: 42

A very beautiful thing happened that sunny day in John 1:42. We really don't get to see just how beautiful that exchange was until several chapters and books later as the character of Peter (Cephas) is slowly revealed to us. 

See, I love Peter. In the entire Bible, he is easily my second favourite person (after David), simply because I find his journey to being 'A stone' very relatable. Because Peter wore his heart on his sleeves, it was easy to pick out his flaws. Which is also why it was so easy to spot the contrast between his displayed character and the name Jesus called him. A stone. A solid man. Really? A reckless and impetuous man like Peter, solid? He was anything but, YET, Jesus called him that. 

Imagine the snickers in the background. Oh Jesus, this one? A stone? A solid man? pfft! You just watch and see!

That is why I love that exchange in John 1:42. It is refreshing to know that although I have flaws, I am imperfect and I have my own shortcomings, Jesus does not define me by my mistakes. Same goes for you reading this. Jesus sees the perfect person we can be. The perfect person we are in HIM. He looks past the mistakes, the inadequacies, the stain, and sees the beauty that lay within. He knows us in and out, more than we know ourselves, more than anyone knows us, yet He chooses to see the good in us. He still wants us, calls out to us, saying, come as you are!

Notice how Jesus did not turn Peter away, notice how Jesus did not tell him, ya know, for the task ahead, I need someone firm and reliable. Rather, Jesus qualified him already by calling him a stone. I absolutely love this! So many takeaways just from that verse alone, I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. 

What do you see when you look at yourself? 

What views/opinions of yourself are you letting define and limit you?

If you were Peter in John 1:42 approaching Jesus, what contrasting name would He call you? Call yourself that today and walk in this new-found confidence. 

Even better, what does Jesus say about you in the Bible? Choose to see yourself that way. Let his opinion of you form your identity. Let it change who and what you see when you look at yourself. 

Even if you are not that yet, Jesus calls you that, so you can be that! Sooooo amazing!