Oh, Peter! Why You're my Favorite Disciple
- Cheryl Balcom
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Oh, Peter, who dropped your nets, dropped everything to follow the one who promised to make you a fisher of men. You stepped into his footprints in the sand, curious? Oblivious? to where they might lead.
And yet you followed.
Oh, Peter, though you had memorized the words of old, you were a fresh wineskin receiving new wine, a groomsman toasting the bridegroom.
Sent out as a sheep in the midst of wolves, despite warnings of being flogged in the synagogues, of being hated for the sake of your Savior’s name. Clinging to his words, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Words that pierced you in one moment, empowered you in the next.
Oh, you of little faith, who watched your teacher multiply the meal yet trembled in the boat as you faced a stormy sea.
Oh, Peter. You who, in your flesh, clenched your fists and asked, “How many times, Lord? How many times must I forgive someone who sins against me?”
You watched, you followed, you trusted. And when you didn’t understand, you demanded, “Explain the parable to us.”
Oh, Peter. You blurted out with all confidence, all faith, all filled with the Holy Spirit: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” So convinced, so convicted of this truth that it blinded you to the path and purpose of Christ’s presence.
“Far be it from you, Lord!” you cried when Jesus revealed what was to come. “This shall never happen to you!” How confused you must have felt, as your Savior rebuked your passion, your desire to protect.
Oh, Peter, overcome with wonder, planning to stay on the mountain amidst the glory shining, to linger and to worship. Unaware, still, of what must be fulfilled.
Fiercely faithful, devoted and diligent. Innocently impulsive, loud and loyal. Oh, Peter, how you loved him, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
You saw him pay your debt, from the mouth of a fish and from the beams of the cross. What did you hear when he said he would die and be raised on the third day? Did you think it was another parable? Did you think it was impossible?
Did it fill you with fear?
Still, you continued to follow those footsteps, struggled to keep your faith, to keep your word. You declared you’d never deny, brandishing the sword—yet wept as you ran while the rooster crowed.
I am like you, Peter; claiming I will never deny, even if I must die. But will I? Can I?
I am like you, Peter, when I say, I will watch! I will pray! And fight exhaustion with heavy eyes. My flesh, like yours, is willing; like yours, my spirit is weak.
How often have I, too, cried, “Never, Lord! Never should this happen!” out of love and passion mingled with fear, ignorant of the hands of Satan covering my eyes. How often have I, too, heard the echo of that exhortation, “Set your mind on things above, not on the things of man.”
Oh, Peter, you're my favorite disciple: humbled in your pride, strengthened through weakness, faithful through fear.
Restored despite denying, restored in gentle grace.
You walked in the Way and stepped out onto the sea. You heard the Truth and preached it in power. You received the Life when you died in faith.
Like you, Peter, I can be a vessel, emptied of self to be filled with the Spirit. To speak with boldness, to own a new courage, tested and proven, refined by fire.
Like you, I fall at the feet of our Lord, knowing I am not worthy to kneel in his presence. Like you, Peter, from the upper room where I cowered in fear, I raced to the empty tomb, and my life was transformed.
I want to be like you, Peter. I want to follow with fervor, to walk out in faith, to let one step backward lead to two steps forward, all in the direction of surrender to Christ. With you I declare, “Lord, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life!”
May I be a rock like you, Peter, bound to the Cornerstone by the mortar of his blood. Through your life I see the grace of our Savior ... and I know it's for me, too.
"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
-Peter, in 1 Peter 5:10-11
