From Passion to a Rock:

Through my study of the Fruit of the Spirit, I have been doing a lot of reading of Peter, the disciple.  This will go through Peter’s life when he was a disciple and the times he had with Jesus. I will be honest when I say Peter has never been my favorite character from the Bible. I was very bothered by how wishy-washy he was at times.  Even though, in reality, he was very much a realistic character from how we all Christians have a tendency to be.  

I realized through these stories, that Peter is nothing if not passionate.  He has a great passion at times and many of these are with good intentions.  To show a few examples, when Peter walks on water (Matthew 14:22-33), when he cuts off the ear of the high priest with a sword (John 18:10-11), and when he denies Jesus in the city streets (Luke 22:54-62).  The problem with Peter during the time of Jesus being alive is when he wasn’t filled with passion, he was not being the best follower at all.  

To look at the examples I mentioned,  after he bravely walked on the water, he saw the wind and then started to fall into the water.   He was walking on water, doing a complete miracle, and then a little wind scared him enough that he then started to sink.  He had no trust in Jesus even in the midst of him showing what He can do.  Then secondly, we see Peter show extreme violence for the sake of Jesus.  Even though Peter cut the ear off the high priest in defense of Jesus being arrested, this was after he constantly fell asleep on Jesus during prayer.  Jesus needed a friend desperately the night of his arrest, and Peter kept falling asleep as opposed to being a supportive disciple.   Then we see later, Peter denies his relationship with Jesus.  Peter was even  told ahead of time of his denial, but he would swear to never deny Jesus, but rather die with Him.  However, even with his passionate promise, he would still end up denying Jesus for fear of also being arrested and tortured. 

If you know about Peter’s life after Christ, you may know he was actually called the rock.  Christ tells Peter that he is going to be the rock to start his church. Matthew 16:18 says, “And I tell you that you are Peter and, on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”  I don’t know if I would have made this same choice as Jesus.  I have seen what Peter does when it comes to his lack of passion.  How can a person who is sometimes filled with so much passion but then not, be the rock to start the church? 

This really shows how much God sees potential in people.  He saw and knew Peter.  He knew he would have great moments of faith, but then would also show severe doubt.  Jesus considered Peter as one of his best friends, even with his mistakes and with his flaws. Jesus knew he could be a rock for the start of his church.  He trusted Peter with the mission after he would go to heaven.  This really shows in the rest of the New Testament.  We do see Peter going on a mission for the rest of his life.  In his death, he even was crucified on the cross because of his teachings of the Gospel, but he was flipped upside down.  He asked to be crucified upside down because he was not willing to die just as Christ had died.  Still incredibly filled with passion, all the way to the end of his life.  The only difference at the end was his non-ending belief.  

I do believe this shows a good reminder for all of us.  Sometimes we as people can be very passionate but sometimes this passion can become fizzled out.  I am not saying passion is a bad thing.  It helps do great projects, helps us worship the Lord, and helps us preach His name.  However, there are going to be times when the passion is just not as strong as others, and it is important to have a steady base of faith to keep you going even during the moments when the passion is not as strong. Otherwise, you may find yourself like Peter when he is falling in the water after he feels the wind, or when he denies Jesus to the people around the town. 

1 Corinthians  15:58 is a great verse to describe this concept and it says “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” I wanted to highlight this verse because it reminds us to be steadfast, like a rock.  This is our reminder to constantly be connected to God and his great love, remembering to always do his great works.  

Jesus knows us, just as he knew Peter.  He knows we are going to have moments when we are better about speaking His Word and then the moments when we are filled with doubt, and the moments when maybe even we want to go away from the Lord.  Jesus knows all of those moments in us, and yet he still has given each one of us a mission and a goal in life, just as he did with Peter.  This should be a huge encouragement to all of us.  Even in our moments where we lose a bit of passion, we are still able to complete the mission for Christ. 

My challenge for you this week is to find one verse at the very least to use even in the moments when you are not feeling the most passionate.  This will be a verse you can pull out when you are starting to feel a bit down and unsure about your faith.  This is a verse to go to in the rough moments, when your faith doesn’t feel as strong. Hopefully, this will serve as a constant encouragement to be a rock like Peter was with the help of Christ.