In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭I Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

Over time I have seen quite a few people seek “high office” in this world. They want to be important, valued, looked up to, rich, or popular. The primary pursuit of these selfish ambitions will ruin our relationship with God. Why? Because they are contrary to what is on the heart of God and contrary to his call on our lives.

One man sought after a fancy car and a popular job in the valley. He was always everyone’s “best friend”. But deep down he struggled. When life got difficult with a challenging child, he cracked and became bitter and angry.

Another person, who managed a branch of a large financial institution, wanted success in life faster than normal and she stole to achieve it. Her reputation was damaged for a long time.

In our churches, some seek after leadership positions, and want the glory and name for themselves. I hear this from a few: “God has granted me special wisdom and I feel called to full-time ministry.” Or, “This pastoral position is just a job, and you can approach it that way and take it, instead of waiting for God’s calling.” I am calling this out here today.

Jesus did not seek high position, but was called by God. He did not seek the favor of the people, or worldly status or popularity. Instead, he was humble and took on the nature of a servant. He was faithful to God’s call on his life, and suffered much for his mission given by God. He relied not on his own strength, but laid it down and called out to God to help him. And so he became perfect as a human, even though he could have chosen his God status to get out of the situation he was in at any time.

I think the key portion of this passage for me is that Jesus learned obedience through suffering. What a statement! If we are not willing to suffer, how will we learn obedience? True obedience involves trust in the Master. A trust that supersedes our own rational or reasoning and, against the odds … obeys anyway.

Do I want to be done with sin? Then I must suffer like Christ did. Do I want to control the thoughts in my mind? Then I must place God‘s purposes above my plans and act on them. It is then that I start to have thoughts and attitudes that are patterned after the heart of God.

Lord, work in my heart and attitude to embrace suffering to learn to fully surrender to you in obedience. May I model living out my days after Jesus Christ. The comparison games of this world mean nothing to you. Instead, I should strive to become more and more like Jesus Christ.