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. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 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."  

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. 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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 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."

Sometimes there are things we have to do that we really don't want to do. It might be paying our income taxes, going to a friend's party at a restaurant we do not like, or something very simple like taking the dog for a walk in a pouring rain. In all of those situations, we have a choice to make - to follow our conscience and do what we know is right and expected of us, or to allow the self-centered side of our human nature to take over and avoid the situation. Sometimes there is another person encouraging us to avoid the responsible choice. Ultimately the decision is ours.

Jesus faced a difficult time as he moved closer to the cross. His humanity made him aware of the pain that lay ahead of him, but he still followed what his Father had planned. When he spent 40 days in the desert without food, he was hungry. The devil offered him a way out, but Jesus remained faithful to his Father. Jesus used a human's harsh words to chastise his friend Peter, who wanted him to avoid the cross. Peter's ideas offered a way out, but Jesus chose to rebuke him and do what was expected of him for our sake. Jesus set the ultimate example for how we should live, and act, and choose.