Lent - Thursday March 7
Matthew 16:21-28; Luke 9:18-27
Correcting the Messiah
What are your expectations for your life with Jesus? I mean, we are talking about Jesus being the authority over your life! So, hopefully, He will navigate you in a good direction, right? But, what if Jesus doesn’t meet your expectations for your life? Will you still trust that His plans are better than your plans?
In this passage, we see a clash between Peter’s expectations of Jesus and the actual plans of Jesus. You see, Peter, as a good Jew, had high hopes for Jesus overthrowing Israel’s enemies, namely the Romans. But here, Jesus was talking about being killed. That’s not what’s supposed to happen! Not only that, but Jesus said that anyone who would follow Him must take up his cross and follow Him. This command was different from Peter’s plans. But what if it was an opportunity for Peter to trust that Jesus knew best and He was very trustworthy? Jesus was inviting Peter, and the rest of his friends, to lose their lives for His sake. In doing so, they would gain their lives.
What if we trusted Jesus with our lives and left the results up to Him?
Questions for Reflection:
Think: Spend some time learning about Peter’s life or think about what you know about Him. What did it look like for him to surrender his expectations to Jesus? What could it look like to submit your expectations to Jesus?
Pray: Share with Jesus the expectations you carry with you. Talk honestly to Jesus about hesitations and fears you may have when you think of denying yourself and picking up your cross.
Respond: Self-denial is not a popular topic or practice in our society. What is one way you can inconvenience yourself (an expression of self-denial) to serve someone else in the next week?
With thanks to B4Church