Things of God or Things of Men

One of the interesting places Village Schools tours visit while in Israel is the road to Caesarea Philippi. The road is winding and steep. And the caverns of Caesarea Philippi still have a sense of the mysterious, just as they did in the days of Jesus. It was along this roadway that Jesus asked a very practical, yet very personal question of His disciples. "Who am I?" The responses were many. The disciples had been paying attention to what the crowds had been saying. Then Peter declares with unabated voice - "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus affirmed this declaration.

What becomes very interesting is what happened after Peter's declaration. Jesus begins to prepare His disciples for what would happen when they returned to Jerusalem. He would suffer and die and be raised after three days. Did the disciples want to hear those words? Of course not. In fact, Peter became offended by them, and became offensive himself when he said to Jesus that what Jesus had said would not happen. We applaud Peter for his dedication and his zeal. But, if Jesus was who he had just proclaimed Him to be, then Peter should have yielded to what Jesus said.

In reading Mark's account of this story, I was halted by the words of Jesus to Peter. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men (Mark 8:33). How does a person go about making distinction between the things of God and the things of men? What are the things of God? What are the things of men? I think we can answer the last question first - the things of men are those events, desires, wishes that fulfill who we are. Most often they are founded upon selfish ambitions. The goals may be good, but the attitude is self-serving. On the other hand, the things of God are those desires, wishes, dreams that enable us to better understand who He is. Peter did not want Jesus to die - a lofty and admirable aspiration. But it was wrong! Peter needed to yield to the desires of God. And so do I. Daily I must ask myself: Max, am I truly seeking the things of God today, or just those things of men that will satisfy my selfish will?