BELIEF:  WHO IS JESUS?

Jesus had a pointed question for the twelve guys who had been following Him around listening to His every word and watching his every deed, from everyday interactions to miracles unlike anything they had ever seen.  Jesus asked them who the crowds thought he was "Who do men say that, I the Son of Man, am?"

Jesus called Himself by the title the Son of Man, a fresh title that in that day simply meant "the Man".  It signified His humanity, highlighting His suffering.  This" Son of man" listened to His disciples report the prevailing views: Some thought He was John the Baptist, beheaded but risen from the dead.  Others thought He was Elijah, a forerunner of the Messiah yet to come.  Still others thought He was Jeremiah or another prophet.

The tip of Jesus' prodding question became even sharper and more personal when He asked Peter, "But who do you say I am?". Peter answered, " You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"

Unlike the crowds, Peter had perceived the true identity of His Master, using a title that plainly meant he believed Jesus was divine, an emphatic, "the Son of God, the living One, " the same in essence as God.

Jesus didn't brush aside this bold conclusion.  In fact, He congratulated Peter for discovering the truth, not because people had persuaded him but because the father in heaven had revealed this truth.  It's the same fact about Jesus that each of us must perceive, because Jesus poses to us the same pointed question: "Who do you say that I am?"

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BELIEF:  REAL HAPPINESS

More than once you have probably protested aloud that "life isn't fair!"  A parent or teacher likely gave you the standard response: "nobody said life would be fair!"

Solomon says more of the same, yet he says it in a way that makes you scratch your head and ponder.  Life isn't unfair just for you; it isn't really fair for anybody.  He noted, " This is an evil in all that is done under the sun:  that one thing happens to all"  Fortune and misfortune strike everyone, he says, both good people and bad people, those who sacrifice to God and those who don't, those who make promises to God and those who don't.  Everyone gets the same thing in the end.

Solomon sees two solutions to this.  For starters, he sees that "the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God".  In other words, God knows the score.  At some time He will repay those who have been faithful to Him.

But there's another part of the solution.  Solomon says when you can't predict whether your life will bring you sun or rain, you might as well go ahead and make the best of the day.  he points you toward simple pleasures: "Eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart".  he says to treat yourself to purity and joy: " Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil".  He says to enjoy life's most important relationships: "Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life".  And he says to work hard at whatever you do: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might".

These things are your portion from God.  make the most of them.  Life might not be fair, but it can still be fun.

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