Only One Choice (Friday Devotional)

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’”

- Matthew 16:13-14

Any fan of the original Saturday Night Live cast can recite the mantra of one of their sketches with an almost musical cadence: “Cheezborger. No Coke; Pepsi. Cheeps.” At the fictional Olympia Restaurant (based on the real-life Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago), the menu was remarkably limited. If you wanted a grilled cheese sandwich, you were out of luck—you could have a cheeseburger instead. If you wanted French fries, prepare to settle for chips. And of course, whether you wanted Coke, orange soda, or even water, you should be ready to get a Pepsi. For anyone who came to the diner with preconceived notions about what they were going to receive, they had another thing coming—at Olympia there was only one choice.

We sometimes enter into spiritual life with the attitude of patrons at a restaurant, believing that for any moral or spiritual decision we have a bevy of options to choose from, then looking for the one that fits our preconceived notions about what’s best for us. Sometimes, when it’s what we feel we need, that means turning to God’s Word for comfort or reassurance or conviction. But other times, the Word tells us something we don’t want to hear, maybe about loving our enemies or giving to those who ask us—and too often in those cases, we furrow our brows and find a way to reinterpret, rationalize, or otherwise wish away God’s commands. We know what we wanted God to say, and it wasn’t that, so we bow to a different god for the time being, whether he be Mammon or Political Orthodoxy or Common Sense or any of the other idols seeking our attention and our favor.

When Jesus asked his disciples who the crowds thought he was, they told him he was considered by some to be a resurrected John the Baptist, by others Elijah come again. Still others thought him to be Jerusalem’s weeping prophet Jeremiah or one of his cohorts, maybe Isaiah or Hosea or Joel. People listened to Jesus in those days and heard an echo of what they were willing to hear from God—judgment for some, hope for others—but they missed the totality of his message. We do the same thing today, listening to the parts of Jesus’s gospel that appeal to us or catch our attention, but disregarding that which doesn’t fit our personal narrative.

But Jesus is not content to be one item on your spiritual menu, because ultimately he’s all you need. It is not his responsibility to fit himself into your worldview, but rather your responsibility to form your worldview around him. He came not to be your fortune cookie or your warm blanket, but to be your Lord. As Simon Peter confessed, he is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and to relegate his words, example, and cross to second place in any situation is to fail to take him seriously.

As you go throughout your day, think about how much of your life you are truly allowing Jesus to be Lord over. You’ve always got plenty of options as to which authority to obey in a given moment—but as at Olympia Restaurant, there’s really only one right choice.