Mark 8:31- 38
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.
“The Great Paradox”
When I try to find life I end up loosing it. When I give up trying to find it or save it and simply lose myself in it, I find it.
This is true of faith also.
“He who would take all the uncertainty out of life, will lose it. He who would live with uncertainty in Jesus name and the gospels, will find it.”
It is not the purpose of faith to take all the uncertainty out of life. To have all the answers; to save life from its human experience of surprise, shock, disillusionment, fear, doubt, perplexity, confusion and all the rest of the uncertainties which come our way. To do so would be to destroy the human experience of life.
The most honest expression of faith in the NT; may well be, “Lord I believe, help mine unbelief.”
It is in the face of the uncertainties of life that we discover the truth that
“suffering produces endurance,
endurance produces character,
character produces hope,
and hope does not disappoint.” Rom. 5:3
“Have In Mind The Things Of God”
It is not always possible to know what someone “has in mind’ by what they say, or even by what they do. It can all be very deceptive. Even in our faith journey. Even when we try to be open and honest. Peter faced this in Jesus words and we do too.
To have in mind the things of God is not something we ever do perfectly. It is a process by which we are being changed into God’s likeness day by day. it has to do with our attitude, pride, lust for life; our wanting to make it and make it big. It has to do with our wanting to bribe God so we will have it easy as we make it.
God has it in mind that we are to be servants, not lords; givers, not takers; helpers not hoarders. God is not really interested in how successful we are, nor how important, nor how secure, nor even how devout we are. God doesn’t have these things in mind. God has in mind how helpful we are, how sensitive we are, how compassionate and loving we are - especially toward the helpless.
To have in mind the things of God is to have in mind the awesome truth that to know God’s love is to share God’s love and to walk as a servant in a world which abuses servants.
The bottom live with God is lowly servant hood - having in mind the things which make for love and letting the love we cherish be felt n the lives we live.
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