Stumbling Rock

I had a new perspective this morning on an old passage that I have heard or read hundreds of times.

22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

23Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

When at first glance...Peters stance is noble. He is merely standing up for his teacher, master, friend....but God doenst require that from us. As a matter of fact, the commentary i read on this morning.....said that Peter (acting as Satan's agent) was trying to tempt Christ the same way that Satan had tempted Christ in the desert, when he offered His kingdom with no cross.

Jesus tells Peter that he is merely looking at this with the worlds perspective....and not a God perspective. Again.... something this commentary talked about, was all the Christians today, who offer Worldly perspective on Christianity without the cross, these to would be discounting Jesus' atoning work on the cross and discounting the value of a Savior. If Christianity merely meant prosperity, or in a constant state of blessing, or euphoria.... Christ would not have said that...in order to save your life you must lose it.... and he followed that with, what would it be for a man to profit the whole world yet forfeit his soul.

Just a new perspective on 'Your best life now' and "becoming a better you' that just has never sat well with me. I have never ascribed to this, mainly because I know God will take us through the fire to refine us. Amos talked about refining gold and removing all the dross, or physical impurities with fire. I pray that as painful as that seems, and as counter culture as that is....that God continue to refine us like this. IN this instance.....when gold became its purist.....the refiner could remove all the dross....and peer down into the gold and see his reflection. I know that is what God wants.....is to refine us to the point where he sees Himself in us.

Gen 25---Again another story I was told 100 times in childrens church growing up.....this is a bad deal.....but in order to fulfill prophesy the older will serve the younger...being all out of whack, Esau sold Isaac his birthright.....for a bowl of stew. this doesnt at all seem logical or practical. So when Esau left....he realized this and despised his birthright.