2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
The more time we spend with the Scriptures, the more opportunities we give our Lord to reveal His love and teaching to us. One thing that helps me a lot are the examples of Godly attitudes demonstrated in the Bible. Yesterday, we looked at the passage in Peter’s letter to the dispersed early church which dealt with how to live a life right with God. Today’s passage, 2 PET 1: 10-15, reflects such an attitude of love, Godliness, and responsibility that made Peter the fine leader for the church that he was. “So then, my brothers, try even harder to make God’s call and His choice of you a permanent experience; if you do so, you will never abandon your faith. In this way you will be given the full right to enter the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And so I will always remind you of these matters, even though you already know them and are firmly grounded in the truth you have received. I think it only right for me to stir up your memory of these matters as long as I am still alive. I know that I shall soon put off this mortal body, as our Lord Jesus Christ plainly told me. I will do my best, then, to provide a way for you to remember these matters at all times after my death.”
In the example of Peter, we are given an opportunity to see the spiritual maturation of a most interesting person. We first encounter Peter in MT 4: 18-20, “As Jesus walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers who were fishermen, Simon (called Peter) and his brother, Andrew, catching fish in the lake with a net. Jesus said to them, ‘Come with Me, and I will teach you to be fishers of men.’ At once, they left their nets and went with Him.” Would we do the same if Christ asked us to put aside our own pursuits and follow Him immediately? In these men, Christ had to have known that while untested and spiritually immature, they had hearts that would accept the truth from Him. Peter was no wall flower.
At times he had the enthusiasm of a young puppy chasing its own tail. One such example of this occurs in the story John tells us about Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. When Jesus humbled Himself and began washing their feet, Peter misunderstanding the lesson the Master was teaching, objected at His having to do this. Christ patiently explained that his young disciple would understand the point later. JN 13: 8-9, “Peter declared, ‘Never at any time will you wash my feet!’ ‘If I do not wash your feet,’ Jesus replied, ‘you will no longer be My disciple.’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, do not wash only my feet, then! Wash my hands and head, too!’ “ Ah, our impetuous Peter-so full of enthusiasm and so in need of spiritual maturity! Later in JN 13: 37-38, Peter asks, “ ‘Lord, why can’t I follow You now? I am ready to die for you!’ Jesus answered, ‘Are you really ready to die for me? I am telling you the truth: before the cock crows you will say three times that you do not know Me.’ “ Because Christ saw the bigger picture and Peter didn’t, Peter felt terrible from that time and while this prophecy came true. And yet, Christ knew more than Peter did about this disciple’s potential for spiritual maturity. That is why He could say in MT 16: 17-19 in response to Peter’s acknowledgment of His deity, “ ‘Good for you, Simon son of John! For this truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by My Father in heaven. And so I tell you, Peter, you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build My church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.’ “ JER 10: 23 was demonstrated. “Lord, I know that no one is the master of his own destiny; no person has control over his own life.”
The rest of what we read about Peter tells us that he matured into a caring and responsible leader for Christ’s church. As he matured, the truth became sharper and sharper in his mind. I believe that is what happens to anyone who matures spiritually. Because God, through Christ and the fine examples of all his fellow disciples (except Judas Iscariot), gave Peter direction in how to mature into a humble and effective servant, Peter was sanctified. Peter’s way of providing a lasting reminder for the early church and for us that we should endure in our faith is the example of his life and the letter he wrote. He was martyred in a most ignominious way, but we are allowed to know how God protects him by REV 6: 9-11. “Then the Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I [John] saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God’s word and had been faithful in their witnessing. They shouted in a loud voice, ‘Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until You judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us? ‘ Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the complete number of their fellow servants and brothers were killed, as they had been.’ “ In my heart, I know these faithful servants will then be given honor and eternal life in close fellowship with the Lord.
MK 10: 27, “Jesus looked straight at them and answered, ‘This is impossible for man, but not for God; everything is possible for God.’ “ God has the ability to recognize a true servant through whom He can work effectively even in the form of a rough fisherman with the combination of enthusiasm mixed with spiritual immaturity like Peter. He can also recognize this in each person who He calls and has chosen to come to faith. While it is true than “many are called but few are chosen,” [see MT 22: 14] He knows which of the called will answer that call long before an ordinary person would. In Jeremiah’s case (and I’ll bet in many others), He calls people before they are even given life [JER 1: 4-5]. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit to know that Peter was called in this way. The point of all of this is to encourage each of us to have the faith and endurance in that faith to know that He will work on us in ways we never imagined to teach us to do things we never thought we could do. We need only look at the example of Peter’s life and ministry to see the truth of that. We should examine how the Lord is trying to work in our lives today and see if we can discover ways to cooperate with Him.
PRAYER: O Lord, You give us the gift of Peter’s life as example of how our lives of faithful service can be. By Christ’s death on the cross and granting us the wisdom to repent and come to faith in Him, You gave us salvation. Then, You invited us to join You in Your work, knowing full well we might have to make some major changes in our lives to “escape the destructive lusts of the world and share in the divine nature.” You loved us enough to equip us to make those changes by giving us the Holy Spirit to speak to us through the Scriptures, prayer as a means of two-way communication with You, our congregations to offer encouragement, and our circumstances to provide the challenges we must work through to become perfected. By Peter’s attitude of love, Godliness, and responsibility, You showed us one more example of how serving You blesses our own lives and those of others. You deserve nothing less than to be glorified, honored, magnified, praised, thanked, adored, trusted, and obeyed! We dedicate ourselves to opening our hearts to you as Peter did and making You the Lord of our lives. In Christ’s name, amen.
It is one thing to tell others something you believe. It is quite another when one can add his own personal testimony to what they say. Peter does this in the next section we will examine tomorrow, 2 PET 1: 16-18. The next day, we will look at the rest of that powerful testimony to Christ’s glory. In the meanwhile, meditate on how God is demonstrating His love for us by the example of the lives of His servants like Peter. My husband, Peter, and I add our love for you to God’s.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn