John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
What got you where you are…your own ambition; ego; impatience; greed…or perhaps, on the other side of the same coin, was it laziness; indecision; lack of diligence; lack of vision; inattention or insolence?
Those two sides of a coin seem so incongruous, yet are all behaviors ‘born of the flesh.’
Actions born of either side of that coin can, and will, bring suffering and consequences of humiliation.
What was the difference between the actions of Peter, and the other disciples, that resulted in them being flogged; and those actions of Theudas, and Judas the Galilean, that brought about the deaths of those two?
“A Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people,” said of Theudas that he was “…claiming to be somebody...”
Gamaliel said of Peter and the other apostles, “…in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
Theudas was claiming to be somebody.
Zig Ziglar said that when he was a young man he “always wanted to be somebody.” Now that he is older he wishes he “would have been more specific.”
Rudolph Bultmann talked about the “I” and “Thou” identities and that authentic identity for a Christian comes from God saying “Thou art Mine.” Our identity as Christians must be found and contained in God… ‘in Whom we have our life and being.’
It isn’t enough to claim to be somebody, or try to be somebody, or assume we are somebody.
If our identity is in Him then it makes no difference who we are, or what becomes of us, because ‘we are not our own but have been bought with a price.’
The difference between those who suffer for Christ and those who suffer for being somebody is a matter of celebration and not celebrity.
Peter and the other apostles were able to endure flogging and leave “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”
Peter said, “…it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.”