Matthew 16:13-28 "When the Problem is Me"
TRANSCRIPT:
Before we jump into today's passage of scripture, I want to share an amazing book that I have
come across recently.
Any book people here?
Book people?
Book people?
Go ahead and put that picture on the screen.
Here it is.
Right here.
Yeah.
Highly Ineffective Life.
Yeah.
It's called the Highly Ineffective Life.
If you can't read the subtitle, it says a self-help guide for people who prefer not
to improve.
Okay?
And, yes, before you ask, this is absolutely a real book, a real book, that I made up.
It's a real book that I made up.
It's self-serving, I know, but every time I look at this image, it just makes me laugh.
I don't know about you, but if I accidentally saw this in the self-help section of Amazon,
some of you are just finally reading the, like, yes, I had a lot of fun making this
graphic.
It was a lot of fun.
If I accidentally saw, I don't know about you, but if I accidentally saw this in the
self-help section on Amazon, I'd be tempted to think of a few people that I could swear
have already read this book.
You know what I'm saying?
Don't say the name.
Don't say the name.
Don't say the name.
But, you know, you're like, hmm, they probably have a PhD in the ineffective life.
I mean, most people have heard of books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
That book sold millions of copies, right?
For some reason, no one has ever wrote the book The Seven Habits of the People Who Gave
Up After Habit Number Two.
No one wrote, you've heard of the book called Atomic Habits, right?
Atomic Habits.
Nobody wrote the book Atomic Distractions.
Or how many of you have ever heard the How to Win Friends and Influence People, right?
No one ever wrote the book How to Lose Friends and Influence Nobody, right?
And so I decided I would make one up, and this is my attempt at a funny book, and listen,
the funny thing, as silly as this fake book is, the title probably resonates with us more
than we would like to admit.
Even though none of us would buy a book like this, many of us know what it feels like to
live in the constant tension between the life that we want and the one that keeps getting
interrupted.
Life that we hope to attain and the life that is always running around in circles, feeling
like it's going nowhere.
And this is because, at the end of the day, all of us want a life that feels like it's
effective.
And maybe you don't say it like that, you don't say, like, I want an effective life.
You don't say that.
Maybe for you, you want a life that has purpose, like, I want to have purpose in life.
Or a life that feels, at a minimum, like, I don't like those buzzwords, I'm not that
kind of person, I just live one day at a time.
You're probably the kind of person that says, well, like, yeah, you live one day at a time,
but you at least hope, at a minimum, that each day feels like it's getting a little
bit better one day at a time.
Or at least, when things go bad, at least from there, they will, what, improve.
A life that's moving forward instead of spinning in circles, a life where you feel like you're
becoming who you're supposed to be, right?
This is what we want.
And this is why books about motivation, productivity, and effectiveness sell so well.
In fact, you know, I began this journey in my 20s reading, like, leadership books and
productivity books, and I was just eating it all up, and if you ever go to my home office,
you'll see, like, just a stack full of walls, and yes, I have read them all.
Just all about that kind of thing.
And then, after about, like, several hundreds of books after reading them, I just realized
that there's a new one coming out, and there's a new one coming out, and there's a new one,
and I read it, and I'm like, it's good stuff, it's the same stuff, it's good stuff, it's
the same stuff, but why are they still selling, and why are people still writing them?
Why?
Because we still need to hear it.
Because it taps into a little desire that all of us have.
And what is that?
Well, at the end of the day, none of us want to be people who are ineffective.
None of us want to be the kind of people who feel stuck in life.
Nobody wants to feel like they're living a life that feels like it's not going where
it's supposed to be.
We all want to feel like we're going somewhere, that something is being made of our life,
right?
And as much as many of us feel frustrated when people or circumstances interrupt our
plans, we also feel frustrated when God, or at least when it feels like God, is interrupting
our own plans.
And before you find yourself jumping on the Amen Brother train, there's an uncomfortable
question that we all rarely ask in these kind of situations.
What if the thing getting in the way of what God wants to do is not a circumstance or it's
a problem, or even like a person we know?
Here's the awkward question.
Here's the awkward question.
What if the thing getting in God's way is me?
That's a question we sometimes don't ask when like, why does life feel stuck?
What if the thing getting in God's way is me?
Now the honor of being the pastor of a small church is that I can confidently say that
I know most of you here have decided to follow Jesus.
You like me have made a lifelong commitment to increasingly learn to trust Jesus as master
and savior.
But our efforts to put these messages online have allowed us to reach an audience of people
who are still deciding whether or not they believe everything they've heard about Jesus
in the Bible.
In fact, I don't know if you know this as recently, but I've been sending out these
emails and then trying to work really hard at least putting out the messages consistently
and even creating these like little shorts.
And what's been absolutely amazing is I've been trying to do this faithfully over the
past six months is there have been people that who are watching and they're reaching
out to me.
I just had lunch, I had coffee with someone, just some random person who found it and hopefully
we're going to get connected.
I connected via Christina, but there are people who are listening to these messages that I
don't know who they are and I don't know whether they decided to believe everything they've
heard about Jesus in the Bible and listen, again, I want to say like I feel like I know
everybody here, but if that defines where you're at in your current journey of faith,
like you're like, I mean, I do believe in God, man, like at this juncture, like I do
have some doubts because we all do.
We all do.
I want you to know that you're welcome to bring all of that to our gatherings like this.
In fact, I love this passage of scripture for those who are skeptical or maybe even
unsure about faith in Jesus because it gives us an honest picture of what Jesus actually
asks of those who decide to follow him.
Like if you want to know, like, what does it mean to follow Jesus?
Jesus gives a real, very clear, very simple picture of what that looks like.
And that's why I love this.
And so if you're wondering, like, what is this whole Jesus thing is about, then what
Jesus has to say is actually really clarifying.
But back to our question.
What if the thing getting in the way of God is me?
What if the thing getting in God's way is me?
Well, here's the good news.
Here's the good news.
God is not a bulldozer who forces his way through people.
In fact, God often allows himself to be interrupted.
Think about that.
Now, before you're like, I don't think so, let's look at the gospels really quick.
In John 2 verse 1, we find Jesus being nudged by his own mother.
I know you're God in flesh.
We ran out of wine.
And he's like, woman.
Maybe he didn't say it like that.
But in the text, it says, like, you know, woman, my time has not come yet, right, interrupting
the flow.
And he's like, OK, fine, mom, because you're my mom, I'll do this for you, right?
Being interrupted.
There's friends who are lowering a paralytic through the roof in the middle of Jesus' teaching
in Mark chapter 2.
Jesus is in the middle of teaching.
And all of a sudden, the roof caves in.
Didn't anybody get the message?
You're not supposed to do that before and after the gathering, right?
Disciples interrupt him during his early morning prayer in Mark chapter 1.
Jesus is praying solitary by himself, and the disciples just bust in like, Jesus, oh,
sorry, everybody's looking for you.
You gotta come now.
And Jesus is like, OK, right?
And these are just to name a few.
The truth is that God allows interruptions.
And many of us actually, if we're honest with ourselves, many of us have actually met Jesus
in a moment where the plans of our lives were interrupted, right?
Many of us, in fact, had come to Jesus' moments when our life was disrupted.
But still, for those of us who are following Jesus, we don't want to find ourselves in
a position where Jesus needs to look at us and say, you, move!
Get out the way!
Sorry.
That's the song that came to my head.
Forgive me, Jesus.
I'm getting in the way this morning.
If you don't know that song, do not Google it.
Do not Google it.
What our passage of scripture today shows us is how, man, I just really, I can't believe
I sang that song.
I'm going to get canceled.
What our passage of scripture today shows us is how that can actually happen.
Where Jesus looks at us and says, hey, you're kind of in the way here.
But it also gives us a clue on how we can avoid it, right?
The difference between a life that participates in the mission of Jesus and a life that stands
in his way often comes down to this simple truth.
His way, not my way.
His way, not my way.
Matthew chapter 16 verse 13, where we're picking up where we left off, starts like
this.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do
people say the son of man is?
If you're wondering, there's always been confusion about who Jesus is.
There always has been.
Some ideas are positive, some are negative, some are respectful, but incomplete.
But here's what the disciples reported in Jesus' answer, in Jesus' question, in answer
to Jesus' question.
They replied, some say John the Baptist, others, Elijah, great prophet, still others, Jeremiah
or one of the prophets.
These answers aren't very different than they are today when people are asked, well, who's
Jesus, right?
A good moral teacher, a revolutionary spiritual guide, a prophet, an inspiring figure.
And before you find your inspiring figures, I was going to get in trouble with these paper
things.
But then Jesus asked them a question that every person, whether they realize it or not,
answers in their life.
He asked him this question, verse 15, but you, he asked him, who do you say that I am?
From what I can only imagine to be a moment of absolute awkward silence broken by the
only person in the scripture who consistently wasn't afraid to speak his mind, we see one
of the disciples with the courage to actually answer Jesus.
Verse 16, it says this, Simon Peter answered, well, you are the Messiah, the son of the
living God.
And Jesus responded, blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did
not reveal this to you, but my father in heaven.
So Peter confesses Jesus's identity correctly.
Good job, buddy.
What happens next?
Listen, shows us something important, that a person can accurately confess who Jesus
is, but inaccurately understand what Jesus is trying to accomplish.
Those two can be in one person's aura, as the kids say, but now we're getting ahead
of ourselves.
Let's look at what Jesus says next in verse 18, and I also say to you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
If you're someone who is a Bible scholar, you study the Bible a lot, or even if you've
been around me a lot, I've shown this word for church is this word, ecclesia, this Greek
word, ecclesia, which basically describes an assembly or a gathering of people.
It was not a very spiritual word, it was just a word that meant a gathering of people.
And I would imagine that those of you who have been around church for some time have
heard this and the following statement that has been popularly used in pulpits over the
last ten years, and a saying that I have used over the last ten years, which is this,
the church is not a building, right, or a brand, or an event you go to, but the church
is what, a people.
The church is what, people.
It's not here's the church, no, here's the steeple, open it up, there are people, no,
here's the building, here's the steeple, open it up, there's the church, right, that's
the church.
Now, you've heard that, but you know what I love about studying the Bible is, you know,
I don't care how long you've been studying it, there's always things to learn.
And in fact, I felt really stupid because this word is actually something I've studied
many times for you, how many times have I talked about this idea of the church?
Over and over again, and I've looked at this, and so I was going over word studies just
mine the passage, like, oh, there's something cool I can give you today, and then I did
not think it would come from this word, ecclesia.
I don't know if you knew this, maybe you did, and shame on you for not telling me.
Did you know that the English word for church doesn't actually come from this word, ecclesia?
Did you know that?
Did you know that?
It actually came from a different Greek word that means belonging to the Lord, it means
belonging to the Lord, and I'm not going to try to bore you with the details, but over
time, in fact, in the Septuagint, some of you know what the Septuagint is, it's the
Greek translation of the Old Testament, and in the Old Testament, whenever the word congregation
was talked about, it used this word that, and I don't have the word written down because
I couldn't pronounce it, I wasn't going to try to butcher it, but that's, it sounds,
This is where the Old English translated and eventually makes it to this German word that
we get kirche, right, and this is where we get the word church, and I'm not going to
try to bore you, but this Old English word was a word that eventually was a word that
represented a place, not a people, and this was a problem, in fact, this was one of the
reasons why, I don't know if you know who William Tyndale is, you know anyone who William
Tyndale is, he was someone who tried, he was considered a heretic, and in fact, he was
burned at the stake, right, but he wanted to translate the Bible accurately in a vernacular
that everyone understood, and that's why in his 1526 translation of this word, ecclesia,
he actually refused to translate the word to church, instead, he wanted to recover the
original meaning of assembly, and he used the word congregation, and then, of course,
in 1611, under King James' direction, the translators of the King James Bible were
instructed to restore ecclesiastical terms like church, rather than congregation, and
words like bishop, rather than elder, and these translation choices, because they aligned
with King James' strong convictions about the structure of the Church of England, which
he believed supported the political stability and reinforced the monarchy, and that the
monarchy was something divinely given by God, so there's a lot of history, this is why I
always laugh, and people are like, I'm King James only, 1611, like, oh, okay, well, you
didn't look into the history, really, too much of that, there's a lot of it, but all
that to say, there has been confusion about what the church is for, about what the church
is, what the church is for centuries, and much of that comes from the history of this
word, ecclesia, but when Jesus uses this term, ecclesia, he's clear, he says, I will build
my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it, the church belongs to
him, the church is built by him, and the church is a people who confess him as Messiah, but
then Jesus also makes this statement in verse 19, I will give you the keys of the kingdom
of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever
on earth will have been loosed in heaven. Again, we have less time than would take to
explore the hundreds of debates and scholarly work regarding what Jesus was alluding to
with the keys of the kingdom, and binding and loosing, and, but what I, if you're just
asking me, like, Phil, just give me the CliffsNote version, this is the CliffsNote version, what
I think is important to see in the context of all of what Jesus is trying to say is this,
and it's this, that the church is an empowered people who carry out the mission of heaven
here on earth. It's an oversimplification for those of you who studied this passage for
sure, but that is basically, in the context of what Jesus is saying, he's saying the church,
listen, I'm giving you the keys of the kingdom, and what is loosed here, basically he's saying,
you're going to have everything that you need, as I've taught you to pray, to bring
the realities of the kingdom as it is in heaven here on earth. So don't worry, you're going
to have that power. In other words, Jesus builds this church through those who choose
his way, not their own. And then Jesus gives his disciples what would seem like a weird
command, but actually reveals a lot about what is true about this period in history.
Verse 20, then he gave his disciples orders to tell no one that he was the Messiah. That's
just weird, I don't know if you ever read that, it always catches me weird, and I know,
we know the end from the beginning, we read the Bible knowing the end from the beginning,
that Jesus is the Messiah, and that we sometimes, but here's the thing, we sometimes miss the
reality that the majority of people widely accepted during this time that Jesus was anything
but the Messiah. I know that's hard to think, but you just have to realize it. Why does
a verse like this exist? It's to give us perspective. Everyone wasn't going, this guy is the Messiah.
It just was the few. It was his disciples. Jesus had to give instructions not to tell
anyone because nobody knew this would be crazy news. Now, we go on, and Jesus explains what
it means for him to be the Messiah, and verse 21 he says this, from then on Jesus began
to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer
many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed and raised on the third
day. Now this, of course, was no surprising plot twist for Jesus. This was his mission.
He knew this was what he came to do, but not everyone saw it the same. Not everyone liked
this road. This is definitely not a road that they were saying, God bless that broken road,
right? And not everyone understood this kind of Messiah that Jesus was talking about regarding
himself. What do you mean? Persecuted? No, no, the religious leaders are going to go
like, yeah, welcome, welcome, we've been reading about you in Isaiah, we've been reading
about you in Jeremiah, yeah, welcome, that's not what it's going to be like. Not everyone
saw it the same way. Not everyone liked it. Some say he was bold, other would say Peter
was just always reckless with his words, and sometimes this would allow him to be the first
to say something that would make Jesus say, blessed are you. But then there was this Peter
who said this in verse 22, Peter took him aside. I just even love that picture. Who are you?
Hey, guys, I'm just going to take Jesus up here. Jesus, come here. I need to let you know
something. Other guys don't need to know. I know you kind of embarrassed yourself out there,
Jesus, saying that kind of stuff. You don't know. I mean, you know. Maybe it's a test.
I'm going to prove I'm the rock. That will never happen to you, Jesus. Come on. You're
Jesus. You're Jesus. And he says, Oh, no, Lord, this will never happen to you. Now,
Peter has the right Messiah, but he has the wrong mission. He agrees with who Jesus is,
but he disagrees with what Jesus came to do, or at least he disagrees with what Jesus came
to do. He disagrees with what Jesus came to do, or at least he disagrees with what Jesus
came to do, or at least how Jesus was going to do what he was going to do. Peter wants
victory without suffering. Peter wants mission that doesn't cost anything. Peter wants a
crown without a cross. Peter wants Jesus to follow his expectations. So how does Jesus
respond to this? Oh, he's patient. He's kind. And he's going to go, Oh, Peter, you have
been severely misguided. Oh, poor you. No, Jesus was not a gentle parent. I'm not saying
that's not a statement against gentle parenting. I'm not trying to cause it. But I'm just
saying all the kinds of things that are coming off the top of my head today. We'll just have
to scratch this whole podcast. I'm just going to offend everybody. What does Jesus say?
Well, Jesus is about to offend somebody. He says this, Get behind me, Satan. Jesus is
not calling Peter Satan, by the way. He is naming the influence behind Peter's thinking.
Or as one Bible scholar put it, for Peter to be addressed by this obnoxious name must
have been deeply wounding, especially after the accolade in verses 17 and 19. There is
no parallel to such an address to a human being. No parallel. No one has ever been
attributed to Satan. But this is not merely extravagant abuse. I like how he put that.
The choice of this epithet suggests rather that behind the human thoughts of Peter, Jesus
discerns an attempt, and here's the point, to divert him from his chosen course, similar
to that which Satan himself have made, as referring to the temptation of the wilderness.
So, when you consider that, it makes sense. It's almost like Jesus has a little bit of
PTSD. I remember the last time someone tried to do this to me. His name was Satan. So get
behind me, Satan. You do not have the ways of the Lord. You're a hindrance because you're
not thinking about God's concerns, but human concerns. Verse 23, that's what he says. In
other words, Peter is trying to lead Jesus rather than follow Jesus. Peter wants Jesus
to walk Peter's way instead of walking the way of the Father. Peter has stepped in front
of Jesus instead of getting behind. Now, for those of us who've decided to follow Jesus,
there will always be moments when what Jesus wants and what we want, they don't line up.
It's just always going to be that. And listen, if you're someone who hasn't decided what
you believe about Jesus, this shows you, here's a cool thing. This shows you that Jesus is
not the kind of leader who adjusts his mission based on people's preferences. What he does
is he says, look, you want to go there? Fine. Listen, I'm the way. I'm the truth. I'm the
life. You want to go see the Father? Come on. It's through me. And by the way, everyone's
invited. Everyone can come. Everyone can die, as we'll find out later, and trust in me.
And you can be part of what I'm actually doing. Now, having roasted Peter in front of everybody,
because that's what he did, I think Jesus sees this window open up to maybe become an equal
opportunity offender, and now turns all of his attention to his disciples. And if we
are daring enough to admit it, I believe that Jesus, what he says to his disciples is what
he would want to say to each and every one of us. And what does he say? Well, in verse
4, Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself,
take up his cross. Now, this doesn't mean deny the existence of your worth. It means
denying the belief that you are the center of the universe. Right? This doesn't mean
like you're worthless. It just means like you're not the most important thing. Hear
me out. Our world says be true to yourself. Jesus says deny yourself. Not because he
wants to erase your identity, but Jesus says deny yourself because he wants to transform
your identity. He says deny yourself not because he can't make any good out of the self, but
because he knows that the self is actually a very terrible God. He knows that you and
I make gods for our self that always disappoint. And instead he says take up your cross. This
is not about minor irritations. It's not about your coworker or the new property tax assessments
that got handed out to everybody recently or the weather. The cross was a symbol of
death. It represented surrender. It represented cost. And I love what R.T. France said regarding
his passage when he wrote this simple phrase, discipleship is a life of at least potential
martyrdom. Discipleship is a life embracing like I could and I'm open to dying for what
I believe. That definitely is not the American gospel. Come follow Jesus. So you can die.
And then Jesus says this, follow me. Follow me. Verse 24. Not follow your idea of me. Not
follow cultural Christianity. Not follow your preferences. Follow me. Walk the road I walked.
And Jesus goes on to say, in verse 25, excuse me. Oh my goodness. I'm just going to throw this
whole message away. Maybe preach it in a podcast. Verse 25. For whoever wants to save his life
will lose it. Whoever loses his life because of me will find it. This is probably the most
self-explanatory verse in our passage of scripture today but I think it's worth entertaining what
one Bible scholar had to say in his commentary of this passage when he wrote this. Jesus is not
telling his disciples that if they learn to live unselfishly they will live more satisfying lives.
Rather he says that any sacrifices they make must be done for his sake. The crosses they bear must
be the ones determined by his own cross. And then Jesus asks two questions and we're going to be
done here. I know I'm over. Apologize. Verse 26. For what benefit will it, for what, for what will
it benefit someone if he gains the world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange
for his life? For the son of man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his father and
then he will reward each according to what he has done. Truly I tell you there are some standing here
who will not taste death until they see the son of man coming to his kingdom. What benefit will it
gain you? A person can build the most successful life. A person can gain everything that society
tells us we're supposed to chase. But if the direction of that life is still my way and not his way,
Jesus says this. We lose the thing that matters the most. It's because the Jesus I confess must be the
Jesus I follow. The Jesus I confess must be the Jesus that I follow. And he calls us to walk the road
that he walked, not the one we wished he had walked. This is what he does. He calls us to walk the road
that he walked, not the one we wished he'd walked. And what is that road? Well, it's his way. Not my way. His way.
Not my way. After reading a passage like this, what kinds of things are you challenged with?
I don't know about you, but here are a few thoughts that I wanted to share with you as I prepared this
message thinking of each of you today. First, a couple questions. Where are you currently saying what Peter
said? Oh, no, Lord. Not that way. Or where are you tempted to say that? Maybe another way to put it is this.
Where are you repeating Peter's instinct to lead instead of follow? Where are you following Peter's
instinct to be like, I got this? God gave me a brain, so I'm going to use it? Instead of saying, Oh, Lord, I have no clue.
God help me. Lead me. I will follow. Where might Jesus be inviting you to shift away from my way to his way?
Maybe it's control. Maybe you have a mental blueprint of your life and Jesus keeps disrupting it at Jesus.
He's really good at saving people from sins, but he just does not know how to get in line. Maybe it's comfort.
You want faith to give you peace, right? But you don't want peace to ask too much from you. You want peace in your life,
but like, I don't want to have to pay too much for it. Or maybe it's identity. You want a Jesus who fits your preferences
instead of the Jesus who leads you. You're looking for the Jesus to affirm you instead of the Jesus that wants to transform you.
Maybe it's mission. Maybe it's mission. You want Jesus to bless your plans rather than to lead you into his.
Maybe it's community. You believe the church is a people, but you also, you kind of like church to function like a spiritual service provider
instead of a family that kind of keeps you accountable and asks you to join arms in joining Jesus in his mission in the world to make disciples.
I just want a program for people who like to, I don't know, I'm trying to make up some weird ministry that you see,
like the people who like this, I'm totally going to offend somebody if I say this. Let's go for it anyways.
I want the scrapbooking ministry. Someone's like, I started one of those when I was in 20s. Right? Where is that?
You just want that kind of church. Or maybe it's obedience. Maybe it's obedience. There's something that Jesus has asked of you.
He's asked you to show forgiveness. Maybe it's confession. He's asking you to serve someone.
Maybe he's asking you to reconcile a relationship. Maybe he's asking you to surrender something that you're holding on to.
Maybe he's asking you to take a step of faith, but you're still negotiating.
And he's been asking you this for like weeks, months, maybe years. And if this is you, you know what it is.
And you're still negotiating with him. You're like, okay, but you know, if you do this, and you've thrown out a hundred fleeces,
Okay, God, if this is you, then do this. And then he like answers it. And you're like, okay, okay, that's a good one, God.
All right. Well, I'm still not sure. And you know, you know me, I've got anxiety, God.
So you're really going to have to come through with this. And so you just have to literally, really, really, really let me know.
Like force me. No. Then it's not obedience.
And God is not a dictator. He's a gentleman.
Where is Jesus calling you to trust him and confess with your life his way?
Not my way. Because the Jesus you confess must be the Jesus you follow.
He calls you to walk the road he walked and not the one you wished he walked.
And the invitation of Jesus is the same today as it was 2000 years ago.
Follow me. My way, not your way. Trust me with your life.
For those who have decided that they are not sure whether they believe everything in the Bible, here's what you need to know.
Jesus does not pressure people into belief.
As someone who loves Jesus with all my heart, sometimes I wish he really would.
Because I feel like it would make life really easier.
Just make everyone believe in you. Please, Jesus. Just let them see the truth.
But that's not the way of their master.
He does, though. He invites. He invites people.
And if you sense a pull towards trusting in Jesus, I would just say, like, you should pay attention to that.
And then for those of us who've decided to follow Jesus and are increasingly learning to trust him with our lives,
Jesus calls us to take our place.
Like, this is a reminder. Hey, our place is to follow, not to lead.
To daily remind ourselves, his way, not my way.
