2.26.11 "The Goal is Death"

"The Goal is Death"

Leviticus 19:1-20:21
Mark 8:11-38
Psalm 42:1-11
Proverbs 10:17

"Raise your hand if you think our goal should be to be different than the world." At the first read, it seems yes, our goal should be different than the world's goal... But our goal should not be "to be different from the world." Our goal needs to be that we have the mind of Christ. When we become like him, then we will automatically become different than the world.

How far are we willing to go with that?

The most basic of all human instincts is "self-preservation". It's in our instinct that when we hear a lion roar, our "fight or flight" reflexes begin to kick in. (more "flight" than "fight"!) As natural as this is, this must be something we overcome as we mature in Christ. We must die to our instinct of self preservation. I'm not saying that we should run to the zoo and jump into the cage, but we must be intentional about dying to the flesh. It must be our goal.

Jesus lays this out for us. "Then he began to tell them about the terrible things he would suffer, and that he would be rejected by the elders and the Chief Priests and the other Jewish leaders - and be killed, and that he would rise again three days afterwards. He talked about it quite frankly with them, so Peter took him aside and chided him. 'You shouldn't say things like that,' he told Jesus.

"Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then said to Peter very sternly, 'Satan, get behind me! You are looking at this only from a human point of view and not from God's.'"

How would you feel if you were Peter? I picture the cartoon where the character shrinks down to the size of a mouse. My thoughts would be, "But I'm just trying to help! Don't you see how I'm trying to help you? Don't you see that I'm trying to build up your ministry?" Peter had the best intentions. But they were wrong.

Why were they wrong? Because they were the result of a fleshly response: self-preservation. Jesus recognized that, and took it very seriously.

"Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. 'If any of you wants to be my follower,' he told them, 'you must put aside your own pleasures and shoulder your cross, and follow me closely. If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live. And how does a man benefit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul in the process?"

We've talked in the past of "Dead Man Walking". It refers to taking every step with the knowledge that our goal is death. This should not be a "theory", or a catch phrase. It must be a way of life. "I lay down my desires, my pleasures, and I stay close to Christ, making intentional steps toward the death of my flesh."

That sounds so difficult, but what's the alternative? To live for me? To live the "Mediocre Christian Life"?

If my goal is to live for Christ, my objective must be to die for him.


Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


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