om thee, Lord: this shall never be unto thee. But he
turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a
stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God,
but the things of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any
man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose
it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find
it.--Matt. 16:21-25.

When the tide was turning against Jesus, he tested the attitude of the
inner circles of his disciples, and drew from Peter on behalf of all a
ringing declaration of faith and loyalty (vs. 13-16). "From that time"
Jesus began to share with them his outlook toward death. Peter expressed
the shock which all felt and protested against the possibility. The
vehemence with which Jesus repelled Peter's suggestion gives us a glimpse
of the inner struggles in his mind, of which we get a fuller revelation in
his prayer in Gethsemane. But instead of receding from his prediction of
the cross, he expanded it by laying the obligation of prophetic suffering
on all his disciples. Their adjustment toward that destiny would at the
same time be the settlement of their own salvation. When the Kingdom of
God is at stake, a man saves his life by losing it and loses his life by
saving it, and the loss of his higher self can not be offset by any amount
of external gain.

_Looking ahead to the profession which we expect to enter, where do we
foresee the possibility of losing our lives by trying to save them, or of
saving our lives by apparently losing them?_

Seventh Day: The Consolations of the Prophet

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of
men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their
synagogues they will scourge you; yea and before governors and
kings shall ye be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them and
to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up be not anxious how
or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that hour
what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit
of your Father that speaketh in you.--Matt. 10:16-20.

Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read the scriptures,

The stone which the builders rejected,
The same was made the head of the corner;