Spirit of Discipleship

We sometimes swing between great faith and gross unbelief. Simon Peter made his great confession of Christ then tried to hinder his work. Jesus told his disciples he must be crucified and rise again. Peter did not see any need for that - he did not understand humanity's need of redemption or Christ's willingness to die in our place. He also had a wrong view of what was important. Fallen humanity thinks it is important not to lose anything - certainly not your life. But that is too narrow a view of success and fails to acknowledge our condemnation. That view makes us vulnerable to temptation (as Peter discovered); it hinders godly living (how can we 'love one another'?); and it is the opposite to the spirit of Christ. It is not surprising Jesus rebuked Peter - 'get behind me Satan'. Jesus then showed the choice we must make. We can follow him, handing our life over to God, welcoming Christ's death for us, and spending ourselves for his sake. Or we can 'save' our life by asserting our goodness, demanding our 'rights', and being miserly. But if we save our life we will lose it; and if we lose our life we will find it, just as Jesus did on the morning of his resurrection.