And how quickly we can forget. One moment Peter was cutting off ears in defense of His beloved Savior, and moments later he exclaimed, ‘I do not know the man’.
Peter may have rubbed elbows with Jesus himself, but we live in a much greater time. We live in full view of the cross and its completed story. We have experienced the empty tomb in full 20/20 hindsight. Peter didn’t have that luxury when the frenzied crowd turned to him. The curtain hadn’t torn yet. The ground was yet to shake. The tomb was fully prepared. The Roman Centurion still believed a crazy man was on His way to the cross.
Somewhere in between the two events Jesus became just a man to Peter. When Jesus stood free, Peter was willing to fight in front of the great healer, prophet, and soon to be king. He feared nothing with Jesus in sight. When He looked at Jesus he could walk on water. When he looked at the waves, he sank. With Jesus on the cross, surrounded by an angry mob, all Peter saw was waves.
What will you do with the story of the cross? What news of the tomb will you carry with you? Will you share the power of healing, resurrection, and salvation? Or will you let that fear sink in… the tiniest doubt that transformed Peter from crusader into coward. Will you exclaim, ‘That’s MY King!’. Or is it easier to just go unnoticed?
When the waves crash around you, can you focus on the Savior? There is no lukewarm. We either draw our sword (perhaps Bibles for today’s climate) and claim souls in the name of Jesus the Messiah, or we make sure everyone around knows we have nothing to do with Him. Which Peter will you be? Hot or Cold? It’s like a True/False test… you simply can’t write in a third option. I pray we all make the right choice.
My Companion 