“Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” 29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Mark 10.29-31
“It is hard to know exactly the tone in which Peter said these words to Jesus, ‘We have left everything to follow you!’ Was it spoken with confidence, non-boasting, absolutely assured that the decision to follow had been a good one? Or was it a prideful response, trying to show off to others and himself that they were worthy of receiving the Kingdom because they had given up ‘everything’ to follow Christ? (i.e., false pride?)
I tend to read it not as Peter ‘the rock,’ strong and steady, but rather as Peter, the pre-Holy Spirit filled man trying to make himself feel better for the sacrifice he made in following Jesus. Peter had many great qualities, but I can’t help seeing this as a moment of boasting. And in light of his future denial of Christ, it seems a little foolish. ‘Yes, Jesus…’ Peter might have said, ‘Look what WE have done. Even if this man can’t give up his riches to follow you – WE have.’ Perhaps I am way off, but it’s just a hunch.
When we commit to Christ, it is a joyful, heartfelt release in which we acknowledge our deep need for a Savior, and in which Jesus forgives our sins and fills us with the power of his Holy Spirit. It is a joyous occasion! However, our commitment to Jesus doesn’t stop there. It continues to grow and develop over the course of our lives. Our initial justification then follows with a lifetime of sanctification in which we are being made more and more like Christ over the years to follow.
Peter’s heart might have been in the right spot, but he was also a very real human struggling with following Jesus without the aid of the Spirit inside him. And even with the Spirit, we are susceptible to falling from grace.
What do you need to pray for in your life? What part of your walk with Christ is causing you to stumble? I’d be happy to pray for you! Feel free to email me at [email protected] and share your prayer concerns with me. From one fellow sinner to another, I will lift you up to the Lord!
‘O Lord God, what a blessing to know you, Lord, and to love you. I thank you for your power and grace in my life. Even though I am not nearly as strong as I would like to be, I have overcome much because of your Spirit. Come now, Holy God, fill me and dwell within me. Make me your instrument that I might be all for you and you all for me. For you are good, and your love endures forever.’ Amen”