“But who do you say that I am?”
- Mark 8:29
Every now and then, a question comes along that even an old dog has to stop and think about.
This morning, my human was sitting on the porch with his Bible and a cup of coffee. That’s usually when I know something important is about to happen.
He was reading Mark 8, where Jesus asked His disciples:
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”
Now, Peter got the answer right.
But he didn’t yet understand all that the answer meant.
And that question still matters.
It’s one thing to know what other folks say about Jesus. It’s another thing to decide who Jesus is to you.
Jesus went on to tell His disciples that He would suffer, be rejected, be killed, and rise again. Peter didn’t like that part. He pulled Jesus aside and protested.
Seems Peter wanted the crown without the cross.
Jesus corrected him—and then said something to the crowd that ought to make every follower of Jesus sit up and listen:
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Well, I had to look up for that one.
Peter had confessed who Jesus was, but Jesus made clear that knowing who He is also changes how we follow Him.
Jesus is the Christ.
The Messiah.
The Son of God.
Lord and Savior.
And following Him isn’t just adding Jesus to the life we already planned.
It means surrender.
It means trusting Him when obedience is hard.
Following when the road is uncomfortable.
Letting His Word correct us.
Turning from sin and turning toward Him.
In other words, there’s a cost to discipleship.
Not because we earn salvation by suffering or good works.
Salvation is God’s gift of grace through faith in Christ.
But grace changes us.
If Jesus is truly Lord, then He gets more than Sunday morning.
He gets Monday morning and Friday afternoon.
He gets our homes, our work, our words, our attitudes, our relationships, our choices—and even those parts of our lives we’d rather keep tucked away in the basement somewhere.
And if you’ve never trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, maybe today is the day to quit answering the question with what everybody else says.
Jesus is asking you:
Who do you say I am?
The Gospel tells us that Jesus died for our sins, rose from the grave, and offers forgiveness and eternal life to those who turn to Him in faith.
But don’t miss this:
The One who saves us is also the One we follow.
So I sat there beside my human, watched the coffee disappear and listened to the pages of that Bible turn.
And I got to thinking…
A dog knows his master’s voice.
Maybe that’s part of what Jesus is asking us to learn.
Not just to recognize His name.
Not just to know His story.
But to know Him—to trust Him, follow Him, and belong to Him.
Peter answered the question.
Then he had to learn what the answer meant.
Maybe we do, too.
Who do you say Jesus is?
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
