I have often wondered why Jesus chose Peter to be the one upon which He founded His church. He even referred to Peter as The Rock, when He had to know that Peter would prove to be more like sand instead of a rock in the time Jesus needed him most.
Jesus certainly didn’t choose Peter because he got it right all the time. The Peter that started out with the Jesus was hotheaded, impulsive, and often appeared impetuous. When we compare him to the other disciples, he wasn’t even the most loyal one in the group, as evident in his hiding and denying Jesus in a time when He could have used the support of a friend. Peter had nothing that associated him with the finer things in this life. He was not a person of financial means or astute in business. He wasn’t politically connected, nor was he revered as one of the religious leaders of his time. He wasn’t even the first person to recognize that Jesus was The Christ. Actually, according to John 1:35-42, it was Peter’s brother, Andrew, who proclaimed that revelation to him, and brought Peter to Jesus.
So what was it? My contention is that it was because Peter is most like us. He was an ordinary guy trying to do the right thing. He was the kind of person who sometimes got it wrong. What made Peter attractive to God was that he had a heart that was bent towards being better. Jesus knew his heart and knew that he was open and pliable, wanting to do the right thing. And after all, isn’t that what God is looking for and asking of each of us? One look at who Jesus’ posse was gives us an indication that He wasn’t hung up on how important, powerful, or perfect each person was.
Psalm 51:17 tells us that what God requires is a contrite heart and a broken spirit. He wants us to be open, pliable, and allow Him to teach us how to walk in love. He knows that we’re not always going to get it right, but that’s where forgiveness comes in; and Jesus became the sacrificial lamb that allows us the opportunity to get it right. He is the God of second, third, twenty-third and beyond chances.
Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples, right up there with James and John, and yet, he blew it. Just like us, he was human, but with a repentant heart, he confessed his shortcomings to the God of second chances who he had heard preached about. A God who doesn’t just forgive seven times, but seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22). Jesus becoming the sacrificial lamb reveals to us that we serve a God who is merciful and who waits patiently for us to do as Peter did – come with a repentant heart and a mind bent towards Jesus.
In my opinion, Peter was the prototype for what God desires to do in, with, and through all of us if we are willing, open, and teachable. He does not judge by appearance, but reads the heart and knows our potential. He specializes in taking ordinary things and producing extraordinary outcomes. During this most holy of seasons, let us yield our hearts, minds, and wills to the God of second chances.
Peace and Blessings,
Gail