IS
THE ROOSTER CROWING?
READ: Luke 22:31-34, 54-62
“Peter
replied, ‘Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.’ Matthew 26:23
One of my fond pastimes is to project
myself into the role of the main character in a book. I visualize myself encountering the same
situations but avoiding all the mistakes in judgment or action. No doubt, we are all prone to picturing
ourselves acting nobly and wisely in all circumstances.
However, every time I read the account
of Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s denial
An
subsequent events a few days later that give lie to the courageous utterance,
my heart aches, maybe because there is a little of Peter in each of us. In my fantasy world I would never deny my
Lord, but in real life my actions sometimes contradict this pledge. It is difficult to understand our
inconsistencies. Probably it is as the
Apostle Paul states, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I
hate I do “ (Romans
Did you ever notice that Jesus starts
off by saying, “Simon, Simon”; his old name (v, 31) and then later uses his new
name, “Peter”? Maybe it is because Jesus
knew that “Simon” would revert to his old ways before he would make a real
commitment to follow Christ and grow into his identity as Peter, “The Rock”?
Is the rooster crowing in our lives, reminding us that we have gone back to our old ways? However, like Peter, through grace we are able to start anew and hopefully become more fully committed to be counted as one of His.