God’s will vs. my own will
Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? Matthew 16:23-26 From the text, the apostle Peter was rebuked by Jesus because he was trying to impose his will over God’s will. Then Jesus turned to His disciples and told them what encompassed following Him; it is giving-up of self-centeredness and to shift to God-centeredness. When a baby is born, the proud parents will immediately begin observing physical appearance identifying resemblance with one or both of the parents. They want to see if they can identify some physical imprints that will provide recognition of parental similarities. As the child grows, the parents are not just interested in physical resemblance. This time they are looking for attitudes and behavior that are prominent to the parents. Though not all children in a certain family are equally similar in personality and appearance but it is uncommon if there is not something in the child that reveals several characteristics of parents. This analogy is also true to a person that claims that he or she is a child of God. A true follower of Christ will grow in their character reflecting the image of their Father in heaven. What prevents godly character to be reflected in a Christian’s life is the continual giving in to selfish desires. Once you let the desires of the world entice you to make decisions that is not consistent with the will of God, you will find yourself frustrated in being the person God wants you to be. Always remember who you are now in Christ after you have surrendered to Him and asked Him to be your Lord and Savior. “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)” (Romans 8:9). Let the Spirit of God lead you and as you grow in your relationship with God you will no longer sin as much as you used to sin. Live your life following His will and realize that He already gave you what you need so you could live His life in you. “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3). Take heed of what Jesus told Peter and the rest of the disciples; “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”
Blessings.
