Another Intimate Moment with Peter
There are three insights that I got from this chapter.
The first one is that Peter was anything but the "ideal" man for the apostle "job." He was always thinking with his heart instead of his head. He was always jumping to the wrong conclusion or acting impulsively. He never quite got things right all through the three years he was with Jesus. But - he was the one that became the rock that Jesus set his church on. And why was that?
I think it was because Jesus knew that, although Peter would betray him those three times, it was Peter who would show more faith than any other apostle - not to mention any other person on the planet. Peter knew with unwaivering certainty that Jesus was who He said He was and He never once thought twice about it. It makes me realize just how prized and cherished Jesus held those who carried with them a strong belief and faith more than he did those who were intelligent or socially savvy.
It also made me realize that Jesus (God) really does equip those He calls and not calls those who are equipped. If that weren't true, would He have ever chosen Peter to become the rock of his church? Somehow, He saw that Peter's big oaf heart would someday grow to produce a fearless and passionate preacher man. No one else would probably have picked Peter but, then, no one else knew what Jesus knew.
And last but not least, I see that there are times where God letting Satan have his way with you are for your own good. Only God could come up with a way to make the best of evil in the world, no? If Peter hadn't been broken by the betrayals would he have gone on to feel such a passion for making it up to Jesus? Would his resolve to carry this thing through to the very end (and it was a bitter end for Peter) have waivered had he NOT gone through this sifting? It makes me realize that God really can use all the bad stuff in life to make us stronger and more set in our faith.
So, despite his three betrayals and the fact that he was always getting it wrong, he would become (IMHO) the second most important person that ever walked the face of the earth in terms of his influence on Christianity. Take Peter out of the final equation and you have to wonder if we'd all have ever heard the message of Jesus Christ.
The first one is that Peter was anything but the "ideal" man for the apostle "job." He was always thinking with his heart instead of his head. He was always jumping to the wrong conclusion or acting impulsively. He never quite got things right all through the three years he was with Jesus. But - he was the one that became the rock that Jesus set his church on. And why was that?
I think it was because Jesus knew that, although Peter would betray him those three times, it was Peter who would show more faith than any other apostle - not to mention any other person on the planet. Peter knew with unwaivering certainty that Jesus was who He said He was and He never once thought twice about it. It makes me realize just how prized and cherished Jesus held those who carried with them a strong belief and faith more than he did those who were intelligent or socially savvy.
It also made me realize that Jesus (God) really does equip those He calls and not calls those who are equipped. If that weren't true, would He have ever chosen Peter to become the rock of his church? Somehow, He saw that Peter's big oaf heart would someday grow to produce a fearless and passionate preacher man. No one else would probably have picked Peter but, then, no one else knew what Jesus knew.
And last but not least, I see that there are times where God letting Satan have his way with you are for your own good. Only God could come up with a way to make the best of evil in the world, no? If Peter hadn't been broken by the betrayals would he have gone on to feel such a passion for making it up to Jesus? Would his resolve to carry this thing through to the very end (and it was a bitter end for Peter) have waivered had he NOT gone through this sifting? It makes me realize that God really can use all the bad stuff in life to make us stronger and more set in our faith.
So, despite his three betrayals and the fact that he was always getting it wrong, he would become (IMHO) the second most important person that ever walked the face of the earth in terms of his influence on Christianity. Take Peter out of the final equation and you have to wonder if we'd all have ever heard the message of Jesus Christ.
posted by HeyJules at
7:41 AM
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