Like Peter

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I really want to be like Peter. The Bible doesn’t hide the fact that he was human and fallible (like me). In fact, he was rather slow on the uptake about a lot of things (like me), but when he recognized the Truth, he went after it wholeheartedly. One example of this is the story related in John 21. After Jesus was resurrected and had appeared to the disciples, they seemed at loose ends, and Peter, always a man of action, decided to go back to what he knew: fishing. After a fruitless night, day broke on empty nets, and Jesus, unrecognized by the disciples at the time, called from the beach with the suggestion that they try casting their nets again on the right-hand side of the boat. When the nets came up full to bursting, John leaned over and told Peter that it was the Lord on the beach. As soon as he realized who was standing on the beach, he barely paused to put his robe back on and threw himself into the water in a frenzied effort to get to Him as quickly as possible. The other disciples came behind in the boat dragging the heavy load of fish with them.
Like Peter, when I see (or hear) the Truth, I want to recognize it. Like Peter, when I recognize the Truth, I want to embrace it, even if that means owning up to where I’ve fallen short of reaching it in the past. It couldn’t have been easy for Peter when Jesus asked him, “Do you love me more than these?” (John 21:15, NASB). It couldn’t have been easy when Jesus asked him three times (the same number of times he denied Jesus) if he loved Him and then told him to tend His sheep (John 21:16-17). It couldn’t have been pleasant to be told that you would face persecution and death for obeying Jesus’ call (John 21:18-19). Like Peter, when Truth speaks, I want to obey, even if it seems to go against human reasoning. Seeing myself like Jesus sees me is not an easy task, but as hard as that is to do, I know that it is the only way to grow into the person Christ wants me to be—to become someone who can bring Him glory. I want to unflinchingly leap into the waters with the faith that Christ is waiting for me on the beach with the dose of Truth that will heal my heart and redirect it to him. What I hear about myself may bring me pain for a time, but if I respond like Peter, it will make me useful to the gospel of Christ. That’s why I would like to be like Peter.

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