When Jesus asked for people’s opinion of Him, it was not because He was in doubt of
Himself. Also, it was not because He needed the endorsement of people to do what He
needed to do. He simply asked to test the knowledge of the people who were closest to
Him. Here is the first lesson: You have little to worry about if people in your primary
constituency understand you. The answer the disciples gave to this question varied
greatly. Some said He was Elijah; others, Jeremiah. The rest were not as specific but
grouped Him among the prophets. Generally, they were just guessing and relating with
Him on assumption.
“Your ultimate goal should be portraying the image of Christ to the world so that they might glorify God in you.”
It might interest you to know that a vast majority of the people who come in contact with
you do not really know you; they are only assuming. I got the wind of this recently. I
found myself among French-speaking people; and everybody spoke to me in French.
They just assumed I understood. I had to painstakingly gesture to them my ignorance of
the language. Many times, it will be up to you to give the correct image of yourself;
otherwise people will keep assuming about you. Giving correct image of yourself is not
only by your speech. The way you dress, where you are found, and where you stand on
issues can speak volume about you. Remember this: everyday people are either
correcting or confirming the image they have about you. Your ultimate goal should be
portraying the image of Christ to the world so that they might glorify God in you.