Much has been written about Peter – some accurate, and some not so much. He certainly stands unique among the twelve, and his experiences hold us up before the mirror of faith in unique and substantive ways!
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
– James 1:22-25
Paul and Peter were counterparts in two different worlds: Gentile and Jewish. Galatians 2 describes the ups and downs of this. Two powerful figures as the Gospel spread. Both all-in from the beginning, all-in until the end!
“But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised (Gentiles), just as Peter had been to the circumcised (Jews) (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Peter and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to Barnabas and I the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They only asked us to remember the poor – the very thing I also was eager to do.” – Galatians 2:7-10
Without Peter’s story we would be missing a huge component for understanding how God works through flawed individuals through His One true Spirit of Grace. The one who denied Christ was the rock (Cephas) who became not only a pillar in the early church, but to all people of faith who have emerged since Jesus went up into heaven.
Peter did not hold back. He was a water-walker, and his all-in heart fuels my soul!
A Teaching on 1 Peter
A Teaching on 2 Peter
Some deep time in Peter’s letters
A good fisherman song