I would imagine Peter was a little shocked when Jesus referred to him as Satan and told him to get behind Him. That’s a pretty strong rebuke, especially from someone that you love so greatly. Yet it paints the picture of what each of us has to decide, and endure, if we are to enter the kingdom of God. Our earthly affections, and the close relationships we form, must come secondary to our relationship with Jesus, and our devotion to following the path that he has chosen for each of us.
It’s not enough to develop and value relationships where we feel close to others; True, we are called to love one another, but we are even more urgently called to love God who created all. It probably seemed very natural to Peter to try to be so protective of his teacher. He undoubtedly thought he was showing proper affection and loyalty, yet he lost sight of Jesus’ purpose here on earth because his perception was clouded by human emotion. It’s easy to do; We naturally find it easier to display affection and love toward those who are most familiar to us, and often lose sight of doing what is really good for them in the form of correcting them if needed. The thing is, we are called to do just that – to do what is really in their best interest, even if it might sting a bit in the short term. We are also called to love those we don’t know, simply because they too are children of God, and we must care for them equally. However, beyond all this, we are called to love God first and foremost. If we sometimes feel like He is distant and we don’t feel a closeness to Him, we should be asking ourselves why that is. Is it a spiritual dry spell, which does happen sometimes, or is it because we have not pursued His word in reading scripture? Excluding the case of a spiritual dry period which may be used to spiritually strengthen us at times, we should in fact be familiar enough with Him through our reading of His word to feel very close indeed if we are holding up our end of things. We should know enough about Him, and what He sacrificed to save each one of us, to feel a very keen closeness and gratitude. Yet, sometimes this can still seem elusive. Have you ever read a book that really resonated with you, and you found yourself caught up in one of the characters to the point where you felt a closeness to them? The Bible is not so different. There are probably many people in the bible that we can relate to quite intimately. Personally, I find myself very keenly able to relate to both the prodigal son, and to Zacchaeus the tax collector. It’s only through God’s grace that I turned my life around and found him and came back humbly only to be embraced lovingly and granted far more graces than I deserve. Moreover, I’d gladly climb any tree just for a chance to see our Lord a bit better. Each of these instances resonates with me, but what resonates most, the more I read and become familiar with Gods word (which is a never ending process, by the way), the more I can move past the others in the bible, and feel a direct closeness and familiarity with our Lord. He is my master, my teacher, My God, and the object of my affection. My perspective on Him has changed much over the years the more I have gotten to know Him by studying His word. I know with certainty that He has no limits, and that nothing I ask of Him is impossible. I know that there are no boundaries in how I can pray to Him. He knows and understand all, and there are certainly no secrets. All the veneer of what I used to think of as “propriety” in prayer is gone, there can only be room for direct honesty. I don’t know that I am always taking the right direction in how I interpret His will, I only know that I need to pursue it as best I can. Each of us has a unique plan that has been laid out for us, each of us is called to pursue it differently, but we are all definitely called to pursue it passionately. There can be no objects allowed in our way with this pursuit. We cannot allow the multitude of distractions that vie for our time to derail our efforts. Sometimes this can even mean a little pushback toward those that are close to us, but gently. We must feel free to explain that we need time for God, and to pursue Him. We need to be comfortable enough with our faith that we are never embarrassed to tell others of this need, no matter where they may be at in their own journey of faith. If nothing else, we are making a righteous request of them to respect our needs, and perhaps we may even be laying the groundwork for their own perspective to change a bit when they see that it is important to us to spend our time with God, and make no apology for it. These priorities mean placing others and ourselves well behind our focus on our Lord. When we learn as we go, we may find that we are called to leave our comfort zones as part of His call and His plans for us. We need to trust Him, and to take up our own crosses that we are called to bear, and to follow. The weight of the cross that He bore for us in the wounded and pain filled state of our Lord’s walk through Jerusalem toward His crucifixion should always be in our minds when we feel challenged. He endured all for us and asks in return for our love and closeness, even when this entails suffering; Yet we should know that He has gone through any trials ahead of us. We’re never alone, or without His understanding, and He will help us along. That is what Love does.
PodCast Link below:
The Deacons Bench 