Scripture:
Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will
lay down my life for Your sake." Jesus answered him, "Will
you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the
rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times. John
13:37-38
Reflection:
We all hope we would be faithful to the Lord when faced with a
decision to be otherwise. After all, we love the Lord and would never
think of denying him. We know Peter believed that. He loved the Lord,
and along with James and John was one of the three disciples closest
to Jesus. He was bold and sure about so many things, including his
faith. He was so certain of his faith, he proclaimed to Jesus that he
would follow him to the death. Jesus, knowing what the next few hours
would hold in store, tells Peter that he will deny him three times
before sunrise.
Maybe we wonder how Peter felt when Jesus told him that. Perhaps he
thought, "He must be wrong 'this' time." Jesus wasn't
wrong. Peter went on to deny the Lord when confronted by a mere
servant girl. He went on to deny the Lord two more times. Then ...
the rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the words Jesus spoke to
him. Maybe we wonder how Peter felt then. Well, maybe we don't wonder
completely, for we too have denied him.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we want to be your faithful followers. But like Peter, we
deny you at times. Sometimes we deny you by what we do, other times
by what we don't do. Maybe it is by the things we say, or don't say.
Perhaps it is just an unbecoming attitude that seems to declare to
the world around us, "I don't know him!" Forgive us, Lord,
for those times we have denied you. Fashion our hearts in
faithfulness. May we ever be true to you, our Lord and Savior, who
loved us all the way to the cross, and who continues to love us
eternally. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment