A story about following Jesus
(From the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 8, verses 31 to 38)
One day Jesus was teaching in a village where people did not worship God. Instead, they worshipped the many gods of the Roman Empire, including Caesar Augustus, the king himself. Jesus taught people about the God of Israel, the One God who is faithful to us and asks us to be faithful back. Jesus explained that one way we can show our love for God is to love and take care of everything and everyone whom God has made.
Jesus told the crowd, "I am trying live the way God wants us all to live, and I know that it is going to get me in big trouble.”
"Why do you say that?” someone in the crowd asked Jesus.
Jesus replied, "Caesar Augustus doesn't want us to worship God. Caesar wants us to worship him! And even though our Jewish leaders in Jerusalem worship God, they think that I am trying to turn you all against Caesar. They want me to stop teaching about God and God's Kingdom.”
Jesus continued, "Soon I will go through a really, really hard time. The leaders in Jerusalem and Caesar's men will come after me. They will hurt me and then they will kill me. But I will not stay dead. God will bring me to new life three days after I am killed.”
Jesus' good friend, Peter, pulled Jesus aside. "Stop saying these things,” Peter whispered into Jesus' ear. "You are scaring everyone.”
Jesus looked at Peter. Then he looked at the rest of his disciples. "Get away from me. You are only thinking about yourself. Start thinking and feeling like God does.”
Then Jesus began to talk to the crowd again. "If you want to try to do what I am teaching, you have to stop thinking of yourself first. I know that can be a really hard thing to do. Sometimes loving God and taking care of each other isn't easy. It can get you in trouble. But I will show you how to face those troubles and come through them. Believe what I am telling you. If you give yourself to God as I have done, your life will feel hopeful and full of love.”
Questions to think and pray about:
Have you ever heard someone say something that scared you? What did you do?
Have you ever found that caring for someone else was a hard thing to do? What happened?
Have you ever come through a really hard time? What did it feel like when your trouble was behind you?
What is one way you show how much you love God?