“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, chief priests and 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 things of God, but the things of men.’ Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’” (Matthew 16:21-28)
Sometimes the plan of God is painful on earth. It was for Jesus. The apostles had a hard time accepting that. How could God’s plan involve pain for a person fully committed to Him? We struggle with the same question in our own lives. I had many people ask me that same basic question over the years: “Why pain?” I’ve struggled to understand it myself.
There aren’t any full answers to that question, except this one: sometimes God’s plan is painful on earth! We are called, not to a choose a life of ease and comfort here on earth, but a life of sacrifice and pain to follow God. We are called to a life of taking up the cross. The cross is an instrument of death and that’s what we are called to take up for Him. We are called to a life of focusing not on what’s good or pleasant for us, but to willingly sacrifice our lives for Him.
Is it worth it? Absolutely! We give what we cannot keep to gain what we cannot lose. In the end, and that’s not in this world, we’ll see we made the right choice!
Jesus knew He had made the right choice. He endured the cross for the joy set before Him. (Hebrews 12:2) He went through pain on earth because He knew it would be worth it in eternity! I’m living my life trusting that the same will be true for us.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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