If you had only three years to live and wanted to make the most out of your life, what would be your obstacle other than time? If you had only three years to live and wanted to leave a legacy that would last for generations, what would be your obstacle other than time? If you had only three years to live and wanted to build a company that would last forever, what would be your obstacle other than time?
In just three years, can you create a movement that will touch many people’s lives and last thousands of years? Jesus did it. He spent merely three years with a company of twelve disciples and started a movement that has lasted for over two thousand years and is still thriving. What’s his secret?
Don’t tell me something like “because he is God.” It’s an excuse for not giving our best to make a maximum impact. Jesus said we would “do greater things than he did” on earth. That leaves no excuse to leave a lasting legacy in the next three years.
Whether you are 19 or 90, you can make a lasting impact with your life if you can afford three years. Moses was 80 when he brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Jacob was about 90 when he returned to Canaan to build the kingdom of Israel.
If anyone can create something significant that can leave a lasting legacy in three years, what is the obstacle? Today, we will take a fresh look at the open secret that Jesus taught his disciples, including you and me, in this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!
[Hi, in case we haven’t met yet, I am Sam Stone, the Lightkeeper—you are the light of the world, and I am the keeper! (No pun intended). It’s my calling to help you shine your brightest so that God is glorified in you, and you are satisfied in God.]
The Scripture lesson for today, the Second Sunday in Lent, is from the Gospel According to Mark 8:31-38. [Listen to the Word of the Lord!]
31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mk 8:31–38).
[Blessed are those who delight in God’s word. Thanks be to God!]
Lent is a season for us to get closer to God—more precisely, to become one with God, just as Jesus spent forty days in the desert to become one with God. Why did you do that? The context shows he was launching his world-changing movement, requiring a great deal of sacrifice that he couldn’t accomplish without God’s power being with him at every moment of the next three years of his ministry.
As I mentioned last week, all three temptations have to do with confronting one human problem—the ego. Clinical observations show fasting tames a person’s ego by elevating joy and reducing anxiety. This outcome is not just a modern medical discovery but also repeatedly mentioned in ancient classical wisdom literature.
For example, in the Book of Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu), my favorite philosopher of the 4th century BCE, there is a story about Woodcarver Qing, whom the king commissioned to carve a bell stand for the king’s courtyard. He did a marvelous job, and people all over the world who visited the king’s courtyard admired the beautiful bell stand.
[If you wonder what an ancient bell stand looks like, I created this picture using AI Dall-E3 because I couldn’t find an actual picture anywhere else. Thanks to AI.]
Everyone who saw the bell stand said, “This is so stunningly beautiful. It looks like the work of an angel.” They visited the woodcarver’s home to ask how he attained the pinnacle of artistry. Qing said, “I am a mere woodcarver, far from an artist. If you want my secret, this is what I did.”
“Since this project was for the king, I realized I must concentrate my energy to get the job done well. So, I fasted for seven days. After three days of fasting, I had forgotten my concern about compensation. I no longer cared about how much reward I would get from this project. Money is out of the picture.
After five days of fasting, I had forgotten my reputation. I no longer cared about whether I would be punished or praised for my work. I no longer care about fame or failure.
After seven days, I had lost my ego. I no longer feel my existence. I had lost all my distractions and became one with the Holy Spirit.
Then I went up to the forest hill to look for the tree to carve the bell stand. Looking at the trees, I could see whether a tree was meant for the bell stand. When I found it, I cut it down and carved it out. The outcome was what you call the work of an angel.” (End of story.)
In this story, the Woodcarver Qing fasted for seven days and overcame three intriguingly similar temptations Jesus went through—compensation, reputation, and distractions. These are the universal obstacles to creating a masterpiece. Jesus’ mission is a masterpiece of salvation. Your mission can be a masterpiece as well.
Legend has it that Michelangelo had made a similar statement. After producing David, one of his masterpieces, a reporter asked him how he created David out of the rock. Michelangelo said, “I did not create him. David was already in the rock, and I just chipped away the excess to reveal him.”
Like Michelangelo, Woodcarver Qing believed he did not create the bell stand. The bell stand was already in the tree. That tree was planted for this purpose from the beginning. All he needed was the help of the Holy Spirit to identify it. To become one with the Holy Spirit, you must let go of the ego.
These convergent statements of the great artists reveal to us the purpose of Jesus’ forty-day fasting. He was about to bring God’s greatest work on earth. The size of his task required oneness with God and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus had three years to shatter the ceiling of human potential. What he had accomplished divided human history into two parts—BC and AD, or to be politically correct, BCE and CE. The world has never been the same after those three years.
So, how do you leave a lasting legacy in just three years? What does it require to create a masterpiece with your own life? We must meet three conditions based on today’s scripture lesson. The first condition is,
1. Set Your Mind On Divine Things
Jesus revealed to his disciples God’s plan for him,
“Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31).
Right before this, Jesus revealed to the disciples that he was the Messiah. “The Son of Man” is the term used by the Messiah to address himself. People in those days conceived the Messiah to be a warrior king like King David, who would save them from the oppression of King Herod and the Roman Empire.
So, it was inconceivable for them to hear that the Messiah would undergo great suffering, rejection, and crucifixion. So, Peter, as always, spoke up for the cohort,
“He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.” (v. 32).
We know Peter had a big ego that often got him into trouble. Our ego may be Satan’s playground based on what Jesus said here:
But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” (v. 33).
How could Jesus call him Satan? That sounds harsh. Later in the passage, we discover that Peter rebuked Jesus because he was ashamed of hearing the Messiah being crucified. Crucifixion is not only a painful death but a shameful death because they crucify only the worst criminals. How could the Messiah, the master he followed for three years, die as the worst criminal?
As a follower of the worst criminal, Peter himself would become a criminal. Shame like this is part of our ego. Our ego likes to save face. It cares so much about reputation. It’s the biggest distraction from creating a masterpiece. Just like the woodcarver, he had to overcome the lust of reputation to create the masterpiece.
Peter was losing his mental warfare against his ego. So, Jesus told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” “The human things” can be interpreted as “the ego things.” Peter was concerned about his reputation, which is an ego thing.
So, set your mind on divine things to create a masterpiece and leave a lasting legacy. Don’t get distracted by your ego. Since our ego tends to distract us from divine things, we must take the next step as Jesus taught.
2. Crucify My Ego
Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (v. 34).
To deny yourself is to crucify your ego. How do you practically do that? Jesus showed us that he did it by fasting. Let me tell you another parable by Zhuangzi teaching people how to fast.
Yanhui, a favorite student of Confucious, decided to go to the country named Wei to liberate that nation from tyranny. The tyrant king did not respect his citizens and killed them at his whim. Even the rivers in his country were red with the blood he shed.
Confucious told Yenhui that was the most dangerous thing to do. How could anyone change a tyrant? Then, he asked how he planned to accomplish that. Yanhui told him he would go there to be the king’s consultant and advise the king to stop killing his own people. Confucius said it would not work because the tyrants would not listen to advice, and he would behead him immediately for going against his will.
Yenhui then told the master his other schemes to make the king listen to him. Confucious said none of those would work. The student was frustrated at the end and asked him, “Master, what should I do? I want to save that country.” Confucious said, “Go home and fast.”
To make the long story short, after some days of fasting, the student told Confucious, “Master, after fasting, I noticed that I used to be full of myself, and now I have lost my ego.” Confucious said, “Now you are ready to go there. Always listen to Heaven’s guidance.” (End of the story.)
This story reveals that the mission impossible can become possible with God’s guidance available to those who crucify their ego.
A person without ego can topple a tirany. An effective way to crucify your ego is fasting, depending on the size of your mission. Both ancient wisdom and modern science have proven it. Jesus said,
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” (v. 34-35).
It may sound convoluted, but it’s about losing the ego to save the godly life to accomplish the mission impossible. Another distraction of ego is our tendency to please people. So, we must take the next step.
3. Overcome Peer Pressure
Many people fail to fulfill their divine dreams because they fear being shamed or rejected by their peers. The ego’s desire for people’s approval distracts us from focusing on the divine things. So, we must define what to be ashamed of, or we will surrender to peer pressure. Jesus said,
“Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (v.38).
What does “adulterous and sinful generation” mean? Adultery is often used in the Old Testament to depict spiritual infidelity, idolizing things other than God alone. So, when we put our peer pressure above God, we commit adultery and idolatry.
Jesus said he is the Bridegroom, and the church is the bride. When we surrender to peer pressure, it becomes our bridegroom. That’s equivalent to spiritual adultery. Especially in today’s social media generation, peer pressure is insurmountable.
We cannot create masterpieces and leave a significant legacy if we want to please the crowd. So, define who you want to please and what the real shame is. Do you want to please people or please God? Jesus refused to please people, not even the ruling class and those who could harm him. He said,
“The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (v. 31b).
Despite the peer pressure, Jesus revealed his masterpiece in his resurrection, showing people that this life is not worth gravitating to, but there’s more to life on the other side. You receive eternal life when you lose your ego and are not ashamed of him. By living the eternal life now, you will do greater things than Jesus did, as he said,
“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12).
You will do greater works than he did in three years because he was leaving to the Father. That means, as a believer, you have enough time on earth to create your own masterpiece or masterpieces.
There we have it, the three conditions to leave a lasting legacy in three Years:
1. Set Your Mind On Divine Things
2. Crucify My Ego
3. Overcome Peer Pressure
Let bygones be bygones, and let us make the rest of our lives the best of our lives. Let’s practice these three secrets and see what we can accomplish in the next three years!
That’s it for today. I hope you find this message illuminating as much as I enjoy receiving it from the Head Office. Until we meet again, keep your light shining brighter and broader, and harvest the fruit of profound freedom, purpose, and happiness.
Amen!
