Thought of the Day !!

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

                                      Matthew 16:21-23 (NIV)

When Jesus tells Peter those often quoted words, “Get behind me Satan”, he’s telling Peter that his place is not in front of him.  It is behind him, following him.  Peter gets upset at the fact that Jesus has decided that going to Jerusalem and dying is the way to go about this Messiah thing.  Peter thinks he has a better idea.  And that idea is to fight.  After all that is what everyone was thinking the Messiah would do when He came. 

Peter is trying to control Jesus here.  He’s trying to get Jesus to do things his way.  But Jesus tells Peter that it is He who should be leading Peter and telling him what to do, not the other way around.

I wonder how often we try to lead Jesus to where we want Him to go instead of following Him to where He wants us to go?

In the love of Christ,

greg