The Cup or the Sword?

In today’s reading (John 18) Jesus is arrested and about to be led away to trial, which will lead to His crucifixion. This is the reason He came. It’s God’s will for Him. But then Peter springs into action, trying (with his sword) to all prevent this from happening. And Jesus says, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

And reading that I wondered: How many of us have something God wants us to do, but other people try to prevent God’s will from happening in our lives? Now these people are almost always well-meaning, just as Peter was. But they say, “There’s no way God wants you to quit your job and go into ministry, it’s not practical.” Or, “Of course God doesn’t want you to be single all your life.” Or, “God can’t be telling you to move across the country to Las Vegas, how will you be able to survive there?”

The problem is that, unlike Jesus, we’re not always resolute about drinking the cup the Father has assigned us. Sometimes we’ll let the sword of our friend win out over the cup of our Father.