The Difficult Journey

Scripture:  Mark 8

Observation:  This chapter is a weird section of scripture to me.  We read about Jesus asking his disciples who they think he is & then asking them not to tell anyone.  He heals a blind guy in what seems like two tries and then warns him not to go back to the village.  He performs a miracle he’d just performed a little while ago and seems annoyed when his disciples don’t understand what he is teaching them.  Peter gives the correct response in regards to who Jesus is, but doesn’t seem to understand what that means.  It’s a challenging section of scripture, but one we can learn a lot from.

Application:  I totally relate to Peter.  It is easy (for me) to acknowledge Jesus as Christ with my head.  I believe Jesus is God’s son, the Messiah, my Savior and Lord.  Just like Peter, though, sometimes I don’t understand what that truth really means.  Or at least it is more difficult for me to acknowledge with my actions what this truth means.  Jesus explains in Mark 8:34-35 that if we concur with Peter’s statement of faith than we must pick up our cross and follow him.  In the most simple terms that means following Jesus is hard some of the time.  Being a Christ Follower means doing things we don’t always want to do.  It means choosing the difficult path instead of the path of least resistance.  It means confronting the person who has offended us rather than gossipping about them.  It means loving the difficult people in our life, rather than judging and condemning them.  It means making time in our schedules to serve others rather than selfishly focusing on ourselves.  Sometimes following Jesus is hard.

Prayer:  God help me to love others like Jesus.  Give me the courage, strength and endurance to carry my cross for Him.