Never, Lord

Never, Lord!

"From that time on, Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things . . . and that He must be killed . . . Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. " Never, Lord! " he said. "This shall never happen to You!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!" Matthew 16:21-23

Our best friends may become hindrances and tempters to us. In their love for us, they may seek to keep us from entering paths of duty which will lead to sacrifice. Parents may seek to restrain their children from going to dangerous foreign mission fields.

Any of us, in the warmth of our affection for our loved ones, may seek to dissuade them from perilous or costly service which it may be their duty to undertake. We need to guard ourselves at this point.

The path of true success, does not always lie along the sunny hillside; sometimes it goes down into the dark valley of self-sacrifice .

And if we try to hinder anyone from entering upon hard duties , urging them to choose easier ways — we may be doing Satan's work.

We may be plucking the crown from the brow of our friend, by holding back his feet from the way of the cross!

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