Do I Think Like Man Or Like God?

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Reading: Mark 8:31-33

Reflection: How different I am than God. My anger is often rooted in selfishness, where His anger is rooted in righteousness. My plans are often short-sighted and focused on personal gain, where His plans are rooted in eternity and focused on what is best for all. My actions are a reflection of my limited insights and power, where His actions are rooted in complete knowledge and unlimited power. As the bible says, His ways are higher than my ways. We see this reality within this passage. Peter can't conceive of any world within which the Messiah of God is overpowered by His enemies and put to death. But what Peter fails to understand is that Jesus' enemies don't have the ability to overpower Jesus and take His life. Rather, Jesus will willingly give up His life for the sake of our sins. And while this seems to Peter as a defeat, Jesus knows that His death brings life...and this is a victory. I wonder at times if I continue to make the same mistake that Peter makes within this text. How often do I think as people think, rather than have the mind of Christ. I wonder how many times the difficult and painful things in my life are for my good and not my bad. I wonder if I could change the way I think I would be able to embrace those things that may seem to people to be evil, but in the end can lead to my sanctification. May God grant me the ability to see with His eyes, to feel with His heart, to hear with His ears, and in the end to gain the perspective of God in the midst of life.