Savour the Saviour

UV 853/10,000 Savouring the Things of God Mat 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Many of us feel righteous when we compare ourselves with Peter and say to ourselves, “ We never denied Christ as Peter did.” The truth is that Peter denied Christ thrice but each of us have denied Him several hundred times in the course of our days and our lives. At these times, we put the opinion of men before us and the Word of Christ behind us. We try to please men and do not mind displeasing God. We enjoy the things of men but do not enjoy the things of God. The admonition that Jesus administered to Peter as a kind of shock treatment to cure him of his fickle-mindedness is meant for each one of us. The things of men that we enjoy are popularity and their opinion that we are smart and wise. But when we give priority to the things of the world, we offend the Lord. Peter was chided for trying to talk Jesus out of dying for mankind. Peter wanted Jesus to be around for his own sense of security. Jesus discerned that satan was using Peter’s natural desire for safety and influence to dissuade Him from His mission. Peter whose faith was the rock He intended to build the church on had become the weakest link. He therefore commanded the satan he saw in Peter’s words to flee. The word “ savour” implies to enjoy the flavour, the texture, the taste, the meat or substance of a dish. This uni-verse though it had negative connotations in the context in which it was spoken exhorts us to savour the fellowship of the Triune God, the Word of God, the work that the Lord entrusts to us, our mission in life. We should not get side-tracked or distracted from our single-minded and wholehearted pursuit of our God-given purpose in life. The things of man that populate our lives should only be second fiddle to that purpose. We must put before us the things of God and put behind us the things of men. Prateep V Philip