Heart Tracks - The Realistic Way

"You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Mark 8:33....."Is Jesus naive about the ways of the world? No, we're naive about the way of the Kingdom." Chris Tiegreen....."There are no crown - wearers in heaven who were not cross - bearers here below." Charles Spurgeon

In the above Scripture, Jesus has told His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem to die upon a cross. This shocked his listeners, none more so than Peter. Jesus was in the midst of a wonderful, miracle working ministry. He was the Messiah. Why in the world would He allow such a fate to be His? Peter, who was sure He had a better perspective on everything than did his Lord, took Jesus aside to explain to Him what he was sure was a more realistic way. Jesus' response was to preface His above reply in Mark 8:33 by saying to Peter, "Get behind Me Satan." Two questions; can we imagine how that reply/rebuke would have sounded to Peter? Secondly, how often have we been guilty of doing the same with Him as did Peter?

Christ's way made no sense to Peter's flesh. His way never does. Our flesh will rise up against it every time. Every time, so long as we live and operate in our flesh, we will dispute, not come. Not die. Every time we do so, we will have the interests of our flesh, and the devil who operates through it, at the forefront. We're sure our way is the better one. We're sure He must be mistaken. We don't want His way, and we certainly don't want the cross, His cross, that He leads us to. We desire the resurrection life He promises, but we don't want to have to die in order to lay hold of it. There must be an easier, less costly way, and that's the way we want. So we go on...in our flesh...in our weakness....and in our defeat. We may strive valiantly, but in the end, we are overcome. The more realistic way becomes what it has always been....the way of death.

Where are we disputing, rather than coming, yielding, dying today? So many keep "bumping up" against the same sin, the same crippling habit or addiction, behavior, or attitude. Jesus Christ's answer to all of it is His cross. Our flesh is sure there is a better, more realistic way, so we continue the bumping up, and we never rise up in His life. We keep taking Jesus aside, whereas He calls us apart.

There are always two ways before us; what we think is the realistic way, and His way, which will always lead to a cross, which leads to resurrection life right now. In John 6, Jesus presented to His followers the spiritual ultimatum that if they were to follow Him, they like Him, must choose the way of the cross. Scripture tells us that most of them did not continue to follow. He presented His Way. They chose what they saw as a more realistic one. As He presents the choice to you today, what do you choose? Do you seek to to take Him aside, or worse, choose to go no further? Or do you come, as you are, with all that you are, as He calls you apart....and out from?

Blessings,
Pastor O