PETER: Learning from distraction
Of all the disciples we encounter in the New Testament Peter is probably the disciple we can relate to best. His misplaced zeal and tendency to speak without thinking often got him into trouble. Yet God restored and transformed Peter and used his zealous enthusiasm to lead and grow the Church in a powerful way.The amazing fact is we can learn as much from Peters "bungling" mistakes as we can from his teaching. I noticed that this was because Peter allowed his own perspective of what was happening around him to distract him from what was really important.
To be distracted is "to have one's thoughts or attention drawn away: unable to concentrate or give attention to something. (Webster's dictionary)
For instance:
Distracted by the waves...... Peter sank in the water
Distracted by his pride Peter lost the point of the foot washing- a lesson on humility and a call to servant hood.
Distracted by his fear Peter denied the one who was about to save him.
We relate to Peter because, like him, we too are vulnerable to being distracted by what is happening in the world around us and lose sight of what Jesus called us to do and to be, or who Jesus and what He is able to do.
We, the Church, need to fiercely guard against allowing the Covid19 Pandemic (along with the fake news, politics, conspiracy theories, fear, frustration and the failing economy), to cause us to lose sight of Jesus' commands. We dare not allow these things, of as fearful as they might seem, to draw our attention away from Jesus calling to us to be The Church, His body on earth in spite of the challenges. His command to be faithful in prayer and worship, to share in Holy Communion, to teach and to preach the good news of the Gospel, to love God and one another as He has loved us.
By the grace of God, Peter the bungling fisherman became the Spirit-filled Apostle of Christ. Let us learn from Peter that we, who have everything we need in Christ, must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, if we want to do that which He commissioned us to do. Today let us take stock of that which is filling our mind and carefully us consider carefully what might be holding our attention and distracting us from the will and purposes of God.
Let us earnestly pray that God in His grace will help us to be "overcomers" in Christ for His names sake. AMEN
| His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2Peter1:3-8) |
Joan Brummer. Living in the beautiful Midlands of Kwa Zulu Natal. Retired minister of Upper Umgeni Presbyterian Church in Howick. My joy in life is Jesus, my garden, and my six beautiful grandchildren.
