Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” [Matthew 16.23]
Jesus' response to Peter's emotional plea regarding Jesus' crucifixion seems abrupt, doesn't it?
I suggest that we all pay especially close attention to what is being said here simply because it was said so abruptly.
Remember yesterday when we read in the One Year Chronological Bible about Jesus telling the disciples to beware of the yeast (or leaven) of the Pharisees and of Herod? Remember how Jesus said just a little yeast affects the entire lump of dough?
It would seem that "wanting to see a sign" and Peter's not wanting Jesus to suffer both fall under the same category of "...seeing things merely from a human point of view." Both share this same root danger to beware of!
Herein lies the Kingdom difference: seeing every circumstance from God's perspective instead of a human perspective. We should all stop and consider this. How might this look in our lives?
To see every circumstance from God's perspective requires 'unlearning' much (most) of what we have been conditioned to. Yes, we have been so dangerously conditioned by our present society (I am speaking of prevailing western culture here) to look out for ourselves, that, in this conditioning, there is little chance of us seeing circumstances from God's perspective.
It is no wonder in the context of the opening verse above that we also read this immediately following:
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. [Matthew 16.24-25]
There is no way we can serve God and His Kingdom purpose while holding to the tenets of the "me-culture" in which we live. And yet, we are pummeled every day (and have been for years) through advertising, psychology, self-help, and motivational dogma to be keenly "self-aware." In fact, "faith teaching" that is not based on Matthew 16.24-25 is just as much to blame for "me-culture" as the worldly proponents of it. And, for this reason, the genuine follower of Christ should beware!
Jesus knew the Cross was His purpose and earthly destiny. He walked in remarkable power and authority on earth as an example to us. As His followers, we do ourselves and the Kingdom a disservice if we fail to embrace the "cross" of our own lives - understanding that we serve the Kingdom and its King instead of our own desires. Our human perspective does not serve the Kingdom of God. "God's will on earth as it is in heaven..." keeps us focused on the Kingdom - God's perspective.
It must be observed that Jesus' attitude about human perspective was not at all casual: “Get away from me, Satan!" Our success in Kingdom-mindedness will only succeed when we have the same resistance against human perspective.
Father, forgive me for being tolerant of human perspective in my life. Forgive me for not seeking first Your Kingdom as Jesus instructed. Forgive me for not taking up my cross and yielding my life to You and Your Kingdom.
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