by Amanda Baker
Matthew 25:69-75
I have been struck recently in the study of the life of Christ that Christ used some very unlikely people during His earthly ministry to accomplish His will. The whole series of events surrounding His arrest, trials, and crucifixion proved that He used unlikely men to bring to pass that which His Father had planned. The focus of my recent meditation, however, has been the apostle Peter. Scripture indicates that after Peter denied the Lord, he remembered the Lord’s words. I can’t imagine what grief and guilt Peter felt at that moment. Peter left the scene of Jesus’ trial and “wept bitterly.”
We don’t hear much more about Peter until after Jesus’ resurrection. I can imagine that those days when Christ was in the tomb were dark days for Peter. Maybe he felt that Jesus’ death was his fault. Maybe he wondered about the things he had heard Jesus say over the last three years. We can’t be certain what happened in Peter’s life, but what we do know is that although Peter sinned, he was not discarded by the Lord. Peter is one of the disciples that helped to “turn the world upside down” for Christ. He is the one Christ chose to preach on the day of Pentecost. I am reminded by Peter’s return to the Lord that there is nothing that I can do as a child of God that will permanently separate me from my Heavenly Father.
I identify with Peter in a very real way because I often make mistakes that seem too gigantic to be overcome by God’s grace. And yet every time I sin, He draws me back, forgives me, and restores me as one of His children. I don’t understand why God used Peter after all that he had done wrong, but I am thankful that He did because it gives me hope that I am still able to be used for His service as well.