Scripture
And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Mark 8:32-33

Observation
It is one thing to acknowledge Jesus is Lord, and it is another to let him be the Lord. Peter was first to see that Jesus is the Christ, the one longed for by the human race as the meaning of life and the one loved of God as his greatest gift to us. But Peter wanted Jesus to behave as he expected a Messiah to act. In Pete’s mind it was about power and victory; but Jesus spoke of suffering as the way to authority.

There is always a tendency to chop God down to our size. We’re quite happy for him to be God, just so long as he works within the playbook that we’ve devised. But God will be God. Jesus is Christ only if I let him be Lord of my life.

Application
Friendship with Christ does not mean that I am to become familiar with his office and authority. Peter was close enough to Jesus to be considered his friend, yet he had to learn to respect the call that God had upon his own Son. This is true in my relationship with Jesus. I call him Lord and allow him to Lord it over me. It also applies to every human relationship. Each human being holds some kind of God-given responsibility in life. I must respect the role God has given them as much as I want them to respect my own.

Prayer
Father, I take my life today back to the simple confession: I believe that Jesus is the Christ. From that let life bubble out of me today. Let life come in me and through me. Amen.