Thursday, May 23, 2013

A little bit Peter, a little bit Luke Skywalker

"let him who thinks he stands take heed
lest he fall"
1 Corinthians 10:12

This week my Bible Study class finished our study of the Gospel of John. A bunch of us were talking last night, looking over the book and the biggest lessons each of us felt we learned over the past nine months of class. 

One of the things that is so interesting to me, especially in the gospels, is how much we see ourselves in the different people.  And truthfully, I think it's God's desire for us to learn lessons from these flawed men and women, that we can apply to ourselves.  Each of us is a little bit Mary, and a little bit Martha; a little bit Thomas, and a little bit John.  For all I know, you may even be a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

But more than anything else, I hear people comparing themselves to Peter.  I think Peter's awkward words and impulsive actions ring true to many of us.

And one of the instances that kept coming up was Peter's response to Jesus on the night of the Last Supper.  After Judas left, and Jesus turned to the remaining eleven, He had three basic points to them:  glory to God, His own imminent departure, and a new commandment.  (All of this is in verses 31-35 of John 13.)

But Peter seems to have heard only one of these points, and he responded in what I think is a very Peter-esque way:  personally.

"Where are you going, Lord?"  And I love that Jesus didn't really answer Peter's question.  He dealt with it, but by reiterating the important part:  "Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me after."

Peter persisted:  "Why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake."

It's a beautiful sentiment, and it was sincerely spoken, there isn't a doubt in my mind.  Peter was nothing if not sincere.  His love for his Lord was genuine; his commitment was real.  And theologians believe that Peter one day would lay down his life for his faith in Jesus. 

But Jesus had sobering news for Peter:  "Most assuredly I say to you, the rooster shall not crow til you have denied Me three times."  The conversation reminds me of the scene in The Empire Strikes Back, when Luke is training with Yoda, and he's so eager to take on Darth Vader, and he says to Yoda, "I'm not afraid."  And Yoda replies, "You will be."

A little while after this, Jesus would be in the Garden of Gethsemane, and He would ask Peter to pray with Him.  And Peter would fall asleep.  That's why Jesus said this to Peter ~ because He knows that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Author Stephen Ambrose wrote in his book To America"The death camps of the Holocaust were kept so secret that only when Allied armies overran them did the full dimensions become known.  Even Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, was unaware that the Nazis had murdered millions of civilians."  Without even knowing what we know now, the Allied forces fought as they did.  They didn't have to know details to know they were fighting evil.  This is the reality about satan, and about hell.  We have to fight with all our might, though we won't know until it's over how bad it really is.

Enthusiasm is good.  Courage is good.  Necessary.  But do not underestimate the strength of the enemy we face.  Most of us will not be called to die for Jesus, but each one of us is called to live for Jesus.  And that can be even harder.

Jesus knew the truth about Peter's upcoming failure.  But it wasn't a reflection of the depth or strength of Peter's love for Him.  It was about fear, and not fully understanding what needed to happen; what Jesus had warned them all about.

Living for Him means we will be tempted and we will be tested.  Did you know that the oak tree is one of the trees most often hit by lightning?  They are tall ~ but they are also deeply rooted, reaching down to the groundwater that attracts the lightning.   The taller you stand for Him, and the more deeply rooted you are, the more likely you will be tempted.  And you will sometimes fail.  But stand tall anyway.  Live for Him.

~ "Lord, You know all things;
You know that I love You" ~
John 21:17
~

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