For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Matt. 16
Jesus gave Peter a pretty harsh rebuke. “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me” (Matt. 16:23a). That word, “hindrance” stood out to me this morning. Peter was concerned for Jesus’ well-being, and Jesus called him a hindrance. The last part of Jesus’ rebuke explains why. “…because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.” (Matt. 16:23b). Peter thought he was loving Jesus. In truth, however, his words and actions were working to turn Jesus away from obediently following God. I don’t ever want to be a hindrance to anybody’s walk with God. Yet if my ‘love’ for them is based on human concern, no matter how well-intentioned, that is exactly what I am. Far better to seem hard or unloving than to encourage someone away from God.
Mark 8
Jesus’ disciples didn’t want to hear about His death. But because they wouldn’t listen, they missed the good part – His resurrection. I get it. We have an aversion to the hard things. Even if the bad is followed by good that far outweighs it, we still don’t want the bad. I hope I can learn from the disciples. Because we know God’s promise, we know that He always works the bad stuff out for good. And we know that God’s good completely eclipses the worst this world has to throw at us. When we fully trust in these truths, we can actually get excited about the bad stuff that comes, because we know that God’s good will follow. We also know that He never leaves us to endure the hard stuff alone.
Luke 9:18-27
Knowing that God’s goodness lies on the other side of the bad stuff is only one side of the coin. On the other side of that coin is the truth that whatever good this world has to offer comes at an unacceptably high cost. I’m not talking about the blessings God gives us in this life. We can and should accept those with grateful hearts. I’m talking about the fruit that is, “good for food and delightful to look at, and….desirable for obtaining wisdom.” (From Gen. 3:6). I’m talking about the stuff we go after out of human concern. I don’t care how great a thing it is, if it puts us at odds with God, it simply isn’t worth it. “For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself?” (Lk. 9:25).