God could Grant Perceptions

"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." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven." Matthew 16:13-20

The question Jesus asked is about perception. What are the perceptions of people about Him, and what is the perception of the disciple about Him. Reality is who Jesus is. Perception is who we think He is. Perception is the avenues which could lead to knowledge of reality. Jesus understood that human limitation and He probed their perceptions of Him for our benefits.

There are a few more things I learned about perceptions. First is that the God’s role in revealing reality to us. There are things that flesh and blood can perceive, and there are things that they can’t. So God has a definite role to play in the opening of the minds. Recently I learned about God’s role in molding our will: human could initiate willfulness, but only God could initiate willingness. (And so we pray God to help us wanting to do the right thing). In the same manner, we should pray that God will lead us to have an accurate perception of reality. (This is one of the recurring fights I had all the time with people: what version of reality is there, how do I know for real, how do you know for real...)

The second thing I learned is that the most important reality is the reality about Jesus. He didn’t ask about their perceptions about who they are, where they come from, and where they are going. The only reality that matters eternally is our perception of the reality of Jesus. Was Jesus real? Is He really present today? Does He really listen to my prayer or is it just my psychobabble? Does He really care about what’s going on today, in my world? If these beliefs are real enough, then it will start affecting my behaviors and my world. True belief will be married to consistent and persistent actions.

The third thing I learned about perception is that even if we thought that we get an accurate perception, there’s still no guarantee that we got the true reality. Peter got an affirmation from Jesus. He even got promoted into “the Rock”. But the following passage revealed that Peter immediately got the wrong idea about who Jesus really is when He started predicting His death.

So, the point to all this was that reality is something we often got it wrong all the time (if we follow the throngs of people around), that God can and will lead us into the knowledge of reality of Christ, and even then there are still much growing that need to be done. Understand this perhaps will humble us more, as this poem I just got yesterday:

>Subject: Shocked in Heaven
>Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 22:01:42 +0800
>
> I was shocked, confused, bewildered
> as I entered Heaven's door,
> Not by the beauty of it all,
> by the lights or its decor.
> But it was the folks in Heaven
> who made me sputter and gasp--
> the thieves, the liars, the sinners,
> the alcoholics, the trash.
>
> There stood the kid from seventh grade
> who swiped my lunch money twice.
> Next to him was my old neighbor
> who never said anything nice.
>
> Herb, who I always thought
> was rotting away in hell,
> was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
> looking incredibly well.
>
> I nudged Jesus, "What's the deal?
> I would love to hear Your take.
> How'd all these sinners get up here?
> God must've made a mistake.
>
> And why's everyone so quiet,
> so somber? Give me a clue."
> "Hush, child," said He. "They're all in shock.
> No one thought they'd see you." 

O God, I don’t really know anything! Please help align my perception toward your ultimate reality.