Matthew 20:17-19
I think it takes a lot of courage to go to the health clinic and get shots to prevent various diseases. Of course I feel that way, because I am faced with that prospect now – I need to get a vaccination. It takes courage to go do something that you know will be painful. Yet, knowing that what will be done is ultimately for the good, makes it a little easier to have that kind of self-control.
As we prepare for Holy Week and the celebration of Jesus entering Jerusalem, we have this passage from Matthew. What does Jesus tell his disciples? What is the ultimate good that will come of it?
I think it is evident throughout the Gospels that Jesus knew what he was doing and was in complete control of what was happening. He knew what was waiting for him in Jerusalem. And what was waiting for him was much more terrible than a hypodermic needle.
He knew what he would be going through, and certainly there was a part of him that dreaded it (see Matthew 26:39). But he was able to live out the fruit of the Spirit. He was able to live out agape love, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness – all because he was able to live out egkrateia. He had self-control and was able to set himself aside and do what was ultimately the best for everyone else.
Because Jesus had self-control he was able to give himself up sacrificially so that you would be spared from death and hell.
While each of us may not be faced with a sacrifice that requires our very lives, still, as Christians, we are supposed to live a sacrificial life. In so doing we frequently will be faced with the knowledge that we will need to give up something or take on something that we may find uncomfortable.
What is required is our own egkrateia. We are required to have enough self-control that we can willingly accept the pain and discomfort of serving God and others. We need to willingly step out of our comfort zones – sometimes emotional, sometimes psychological, sometimes physical – and be uncomfortable for the ultimate good of God or to help others in need.
DAILY CHALLENGE: Which comfort zone are you being called out of for the kingdom of God?
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