Don't Follow "At A Distance"

Luke 22:  54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

Peter spent three years with Jesus.  He witnessed miracles.  He walked on water!  He witnessed the transfiguration!  He was in Jesus' inner circle, one of the three Jesus chose to pour into even more than the others.  How, then, did Peter find himself denying that he even knew Jesus?  I think it started in verse 54.  Peter "followed at a distance'.  He got too far away from Jesus. 

Look at what happened next.  In verse 55, the Scripture says Peter "sat down among them"...them being the people in the high priest's house, maybe servants and officers.  Not only had he gotten too far away from Jesus, he got too close to those who were against Jesus.  He sat down with them, tried to blend in with them, tried to act like one of them.

But it didn't work.  Before long, someone called him out.  Then another did the same...and again.  And what did Peter do?  Peter, who had gotten too far away from his Lord and had gotten too close to the wrong people, denied he even knew Jesus.  In such a short period of time, a matter of hours, Peter had gone from fighting for Jesus to denying him completely.  It started with distancing himself, and it ended with bitter weeping (verse 62).

Isn't that how it always works?  We never start out planning to disown Him.  It's just a step away, then another step.  Soon we are backing off, not following as closely as we were.  We start to try to blend into the crowd.  We try to look like everyone else, act like everyone else, avoid being noticed.  The next thing we know, we are "sitting" with them; spending time with the world, conversing with it.  And then comes the opportunity.  We can either stand up in the face of evil and say "no", or we can deny the Lord and say nothing.  Even worse, we deny Him and condone the evil.  For Peter, it was fear of recognition, fear of association.  Isn't it the same for us?  Fear of offending, fear of appearing "judgmental", fear of being left out. 

Learn from Peter's hard lesson.  That path always ends with bitter weeping.

Interactive Blog Experiment

Well, I am putting myself out there. I may live to regret this. I may find out no one actually reads anything I write. But here goes anyway... This is going to be an interactive blog post. The meat of it will come from anyone who chooses to respond. I will post my own response later, but I want the responses to come from your experiences, not your reaction to my experience.

 What I want to know is this: As a parent, what has surprised you most at this stage in your children's lives? What did you not expect/plan for/anticipate? Feel free to share how you have responded to the surprise as well. Now...GO!

 Yes, that's it. Nothing more from me right now. The success or failure of this experiment depends on you. Keep in mind that any comments must be approved by me before they will appear. That's just the way I set up my blog.

 Now...really...GO!

Salt and Light

“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?  It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  Luke 14:34-35


“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house."  Matthew 5:13-14


I have been thinking about these verses a lot today.  But not in the usual way.  


Last night, I found myself in a discussion that really challenged how Christians are "supposed" to behave.  A friend had made a comment supporting a particular political position.  Or, more accurately, he had supported the political opinion that had been voiced by another person.  My friend was promptly bashed for his support.  What was it that was so offensive?  It wasn't his political opinion per-se (although I suspect this was the root of it).  It wasn't his tone or his words, he wasn't rude or crude or obnoxious.  No, the thing that was so offensive to his basher was this:  He is a minister.  According to the offending party, ministers are not allowed to have political opinions.  Her complaint?  That his opinion was "divisive" and not becoming of a pastor.  


Before I go off on a tangent here, let me get to the point of this post.  It isn't about political opinions, although I believe pastors have a right and a duty to be politically involved.  It is, rather, about Christianity in general and how we as Christians are to influence the world.  This person who was so offended obviously believes Christians are to be kind and gentle and peacemaking at all times.  They are never to engage in debate or in any conversation that might be perceived as "divisive.  I beg to differ.  This is where salt and light come in.  Most Christians should be familiar with the verses above and with the teachings on salt and light.  But today, God revealed something new to me.  


Salt:  Salt is a flavor enhancer and a preservative.  The comparison to the Christian life is obvious.  We are to enhance the world around us for Christ.  We are to make the world around us better.  But here is the thing about salt.  Salt on bland food brings out it's flavor.  Salt on meat will keep it good.  But what about salt on a wound?  Ouch.  It stings.  Salt on the open wound of sin is not going to be well received.  It hurts.  And salt is, well, salty.  It isn't sweet.  Salt is also useful as a cleaner because it is...abrasive.  Sometimes as the salt of the earth Christians are going to have to share truth that stings, truth that doesn't seem "sweet",  truth that may seem abrasive.


Light:  Light dispels the darkness.  Light brings life.  Light is healing and warming and good.  But have you ever been in a dark room, sleeping perhaps, and had someone suddenly switch on the lights?  It hurts your eyes.  Or have you stepped out of a darkened theater into the bright sunlight?  You draw back and cover your eyes because the brightness of the light is too much.  People who are hiding in the darkness, concealing their sin, are not going to be thrilled to have the Light shined on them-at least not initially. 


And so, as salt and light, it is important to remember that the Christian life is not always easy.  It is not always pleasant.  And it is not always going to be met with enthusiasm by the world.  In fact, it is rarely met with enthusiasm.  But we are still called to be salty.  We are still called to shine the Light.