Summary: Anyone with good sense knows that they ought to look for the bottom line in the decisions they make. Jesus was profoundly committed to the bottom line ― for himself, and for us. For most of us, the problem is that we don’t necessarily recognize the bottom line when we see it.
Summary: Although we are often confused about what we think is necessary for us to live a good life, Jesus is quite clear. To live life abundantly, he calls us to give up the attachments that we think are essential and take up the truly necessary challenge of following him through suffering to eternal life.
Summary: Although we find joy and comfort in following Jesus, we accept the call to take up our crosses because we do not shrink back from facing the evil of the world.
Summary: The cross of Jesus has a hard but necessary lesson to teach us: that, although life inevitably ends in death, it is in death that eternal life has its beginning.
Our passage is about a time when Jesus showed Peter a “course correction” he needed to make. Had he not made that correction, Peter would have continued “setting his mind not on divine things but on human things.” The good news for us is that Jesus is patient and willing to help us make course corrections as we follow him.