Disarming Peter II: Spirituality

In disarming Peter, Christ disarmed all Christians. Tertullion 2nd Century AD.

The disciple Peter was a hothead. He was boisterous, arrogant, proud, and stubborn. He was the unspoken leader of the twelve disciples. He was the first to jump into a situation, first to defend Jesus, and subsequently, he would often times, be the first to fail. Peter was the prototypical fundamental evangelical Christian. Like all Christians, Peter had his trials, and his failures. It is through his life, that we can learn how to get up when we fall.
Peter was a spiritual person. He knew the Scriptures and their meanings. He was the first to accept and state Jesus was the Messiah. Even though Peter knew the Scriptures, he wasn't going to allow what was written to take place, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3 NIV) “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Matthew 16:21-23 NIV) Peter knew the Scriptures and he knew what was going to happen, yet he felt he could stop it, because of the great love for Jesus that he had. Jesus disarmed Peter spiritually with his rebuke, that Peter had the things of men in his heart, and not the things of God.
We as Christians, though we know the Scriptures, we have a hard time allowing the Scriptures to work in us. We don't want to follow and obey what the Scriptures say, though we know it is what is best for us. We have a hard time applying the very Scriptures that we live by, when the time gets rough. When things become spiritually tough what should we do to overcome the burdens.
The first step is to keep in mind the things of God. We need to seek after His kingdom first, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33 NIV) When we line up our heart first with God, everything else will fall into place. God will cover all of our needs, if we only have the trust to put into Him, and not doubt that He will fulfill his promise.
The second step is to continue to get our spiritual batteries recharged. This is done through fellowship with other believers. Attending a church is a start, but maintaining a relationship with people outside of the church walls is better. God stated it is not good for man to be alone, not just in a physical sense, but also in a spiritual sense. We must have healthy relationships with other people who can encourage us as we walk with the Lord.
The third step is to accept rebuke when we are wrong. The hardest thing for anyone is to admit they made a mistake, and even harder to listen to someone else as they tell them they made a mistake. Jesus didn't pull any punches with Peter, he told it like it is, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block.” When we are wrong, we need to be able to open our hearts and our minds, and accept when someone is rebuking us. In this instance, did Peter argue back. It doesn't say, but Peter recognized that Jesus had authority over him, and accepted the rebuke. If we close our hearts to rebuke, we are closing our hearts to spiritual growth.
While Jesus disarmed Peter spiritually, he was also teaching him a lesson. Peter became one of the strongest leaders in the early church, and was very strong spiritually. When we begin to learn from Peter's lessons, we will begin to grow spiritually.
Have a blessed week.
Daniel V