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And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?
Is anything worth more than your soul? 
Matthew 16:26 NLT
Jesus has changed his emphasis with his discussions with his disciples and is repeatedly telling them about what is ahead for him;
suffering
death
being raised from death 
He's just told Peter off because Peter (not unreasonably) doesn't want Jesus to go through these things.
Jesus is now laying out what it is to be a follower;
To give up your own way. 
And yet this is what they'd done isn't it? Followed their Rabbi's call and were going from place to place with him, listening to his teaching?
So what is Jesus asking here?
Perhaps he's asking to go a little deeper, to our heart motives, to what we really desire?
I was at a tangi this week, and Jesus questions are kind of the unspoken questions at a funeral as we remember, and celebrate the goodness, and grieve the loss to ourselves, to others, to the world. The unspoken question is "how am I living my life? 
Am I trying to gain something that really isn't important?"
I don't think Jesus is telling his team off here (or us), but inviting us in to a deeper reality with Him, a deeper following, not quitting our job as fishermen and following him around, but quitting some of our desires & following Him.
What's he inviting you into?
#wordsofJesus
#redletterBible 
#invitation

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