Love Peter...What does that mean?

 
          A few days ago I shared a post on my Facebook page that compared Peter and Judas.  It basically said that Peter had a bad day, but Judas had a bad heart.  Love Peter and lose Judas.  This morning I was worshiping and praying...just spending time with God, and so many people came to mind.  As they came to mind I prayed for them and went back to singing and enjoying.  After awhile I began to realize that the people and situations that were coming to mind had a theme, but it wasn't the theme that I would have assumed. 
          So, before I get into this, here is some background.  I have been a Christian for approximately one half of a century.  Now, I did not say that I have acted and thought like a Christ follower for all of 50 years, but I HAVE been in the process of God working on me for that long.  How long does it take?  All I know is that 50 years is not enough, but God is faithful to complete the work that He started.  So, having been in church for that long I have been wounded and hurt.  I have been misunderstood.  I have been guilty by association and just straight up guilty.  I have believed the truth and I have believed some lies.  I have trusted in God and I have trusted in people (but since I am a person... I should have known better than to have done the later.)
         This is where my mind went in this conversation with God this morning.  Of course, Peter was the guy that Jesus called a rock upon which He would build the church.  He was a strong willed, trustworthy, tough guy with a heart so turned toward Jesus that he was seen by Jesus as foundational to the entire body of Christ.  Judas, on the other hand, was a slimy, money grubbing, yes-man who sold Jesus out for some pocket change.  Yes, Peter was also the guy who denied Jesus, but it wasn't a matter of weak character or corruption (like Judas.)  It was a matter of a weak moment and just plain being a human.  Afterwards he owned the sin and it made him even more strongly committed to his Savior. 
          In my years in the church I have seen Peters expelled...ridden out on a rail...crucified and completely demolished.  Heck, I have been Peter.   And...I have seen Judas loved, exalted, and declared infallible.  WHAT!!!  So, I started asking God about this.  How does this happen?  What makes some Peters so easy to discard while some Judases get catapulted into greatness?  How can good christian people be fooled?  Aren't most of us Peters at some point.  I mean...don't we all make mistakes or even choose the wrong path at times. (Hint:  the answer is yes!)
          As I asked God about this, the story of Abraham and Issac came to mind.  Issac had as much favor with Abraham as anyone could ever have.  He was the son of promise.  Yet, Abraham held on to Issac very loosely.  When God told him to sacrifice Issac, Abraham had no hesitation.  The picture that I got was that Abraham sought God and obeyed unconditionally.  So often we see people differently than Abraham saw Issac.  We treasure their skills, their opinions, their longevity in our lives, and because we see them as treasure, we begin to value them above others...we even value them above our relationships with God.  As people become treasure, we become blinded by their shine and sparkle. They sometimes become like jewelry because they make us look good.   I am not saying that we should not love and nurture our relationships.  On the contrary,  God is love and love is expressed between people.  What I am saying is that we need to find our treasure in God alone. God is never tarnished.  He is never a Peter having a bad day.  He is always wise counsel, and He is the ONLY one who can truly judge the heart of another.  We can't even accurately judge our own hearts.
          We need to be able to love God and one another so purely that we can easily give up the value that another person adds to our lives.  We need to be able to speak about and receive the hard conversations that need to be discussed.  We need to be able to join with and work with people who are not who we would pick, and we need to be able to leave situations that we adore if the leading of God moves us.  In Matthew 8 Jesus talks about the price of following Him.  When He calls us to follow Him we are not to question.  He expects us to drop what we are doing and take off after Him.
           We need to hold one another like Abraham held Issac...with open arms ready to give him up.  We also need to guard against discarding the Peters in our lives...just give them a chance to say they love you three times and get on with life.