His life is such a hope for the rest of us, is it not? His story, from beginning to end is a series of highs and lows. (Simon) Peter, along with his brother Andrew, is the first we see called to discipleship by Christ. Jesus calls him Peter which means “Rock”. He is rebuked when Jesus says to him, “Get behind me, satan.” (Yipes!) He walks on water. He denies Christ. He is restored by Christ and on the day of Pentecost we see him give the first sermon where 3000 people are saved.
It seems our friend has “finally” gotten things straight. No more ups and downs. All he needed was to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and Peter gets off the spiritual yo-yo…. Right? Wrong….
As we watch his AD ministry unfold, we realize that Peter has some prejudice issues that he must work through and in Galatians 2:11 we see Paul flat rebuke him to his face for his weakness and insecurity – and in the presence of other Christian leaders.
I love this passage….because it shows us that even the greatest of our spiritual leaders are still a work in progress. And that is a comfort to me. I love it because it shows that our journey with the Lord – for our whole lives – is a process.
I love that when God saw Peter, He saw past his impulsive, hot-tempered, weak-willed personality traits and straight to his passionate, loyal, risk-taking, enduring, teachable and loving character. I love what Beth Moore says in her book “Jesus, the One and Only”: She says that Peter may have been able to deny Christ to others, but that he could never deny Christ to himself.
Oh how we are – that we so long for Jesus but allow our rotten flesh to get in the way time and time again. Do you ever wonder – “will I ever get it right?” “Is there any hope for me?” Maybe that’s just what Paul was talking about in Romans 7. His conclusion was – that-yeah, there is hope for me – Jesus. It was Paul who told us it’s by grace that we’re saved, not of ourselves. So it’s fitting that it would be Paul who would stand up with confidence and set Peter straight in front of their associates. I have a feeling that it was a rebuke well given and well received. Because we always see Peter bounce back Always…. And that’s the hope of it.
In the end we see this beloved apostle die a death as dramatic as the life he lived as he is martyred for Christ, crucified, upside down.
Can a huge, passionate, unyielding and faithful heart dwell inside a weak, flawed and thin sack of flesh? I think so. I think Peter shows us it can. Peter was always in process. I’m thankful for the example. It offers me hope.
Ultimately, I believe that Peter’s life was governed by two things: One, that he knew that God unrelentingly loved him and two, that he so desperately loved God.
Psalm 103:8-14
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust….
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You know if you think about it, his life was the perfect example of a young Christian life lived. We fall but we have to get up. We're not perfect and we don't know everything about a Christian walk because we have not lived it very long. We will fall many times. Even times that are most crucial that we not fall. (Like when he denied Christ) But we have to get back up and live for the love of God. His life is a good life to read and follow. He shows us how he got to the point to be willing to die for what he believed because he loved God so much and realized how much He loves us. That realization takes time to gain. It took Peter time to get to the point that he would die for his belief. Right now, as young Christians, our lives are like his at the beginning. It's hard to admit that you’re a Christian sometimes for fear of persecution or rejection, and sometimes the "elders" of Christianity will call us out on what we do. (Like Paul rebuked Peter) But that's part of learning. Just like Peter had to learn, we have to learn. If we fall, but realize the mercy that we have through Christ and get back up, eventually we will get to the point that we are so in love with God that we would take a painfully excruciating death for our love for Him. I just hope it never comes to that for us. Thank you God for protecting us like you have! I’ve always thought that a perfect example of Christ’s love was when Peter denied him. Not just once but three times! Wow. If I had a friend that walked around and said that he wasn’t my friend, of course I would be upset. But Christ isn’t like that. He forgave him and took him back. That’s real love!
ReplyDeleteGood stuff! I needed that today!
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