Mar 22 - "Unworthy Yet Worthy"

Mark 8:27-33 -- “Jesus went on with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they answered Him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered Him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ And He sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about Him. Then He began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ ”

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It’s good that we can see examples of people in the Bible, especially those chosen by Christ Himself to go out and do His work, who make mistakes every once in awhile.

You gotta love this guy, Peter. He is all about trying to do and say the right thing. Of all the disciples, he comes across as the most human, down-to-earth bloke of the whole bunch. I picture Peter as someone who tries really hard, but just can't seem to get it right some of the time...just like me and you. In this conversation with Jesus, he thinks he answers Jesus' question correctly of who He is: "You are the Messiah!". Peter is probably thinking, "Yes! I know I got this one right!". But then Jesus comes back with a warning about Peter's answer. I imagine Peter slapping his hand against his forehead in a "coulda had a V-8" moment, realizing he got the answer only partly right.

After this dialogue, it seems that Peter pulls Jesus to the side for a private conversation. We don't know what he said to Jesus, but it was probably something about what could be done to avoid the pain and death Jesus has just foretold. Once again, his heart is in the right place. He may have said, "Jesus, look...why don't we go off to another part of the country, avoiding this local group of Pharisees who seem to have it out for you? Or maybe, let's just lie low for awhile, stop all the miracles for a bit? The local bakers are really upset about all the bread you've been creating and giving away lately. Maybe all of this can blow over if we keep it cool for awhile?"

How does Jesus respond? He basically tells Peter that he is the devil. He rebukes Peter for putting his mind on short term goals...things of this world...not on things eternal. Poor Peter. He probably slunk away from the group, saying to himself, "I am SO stupid!! Why do I say those things?!? Arrggh!"

Haven't we all felt this way?

We should take comfort in the fact that even though we don’t always get things right, Jesus still loves us and accepts us. He calls us to Him as we are, with no desire to make us be something that we aren’t in our most base, core and truest selves. God uses imperfect people to accomplish His perfect will. Look at what God did with Peter. Even with his faults and foibles, he became one of the most important early leaders of Christianity. Look at what God did with Saul, before he became Paul. The first systematic persecutor of early Christians actually held the cloaks of men who were stoning to death the followers of Christ. Even though he carried a hatred for those who followed Jesus, his letters to early Christian communities now make up a large portion of the New Testament.

So, it is OK when we have days where our words make us feel like Peter; times when we carry anger and hatred like Saul. God can see through all of our issues, He still loves and cares for us when we miss the mark. Fortunately, our Loving Father can break through the shell of inadequateness with which we often surround ourselves. He knows that we sometimes feel unworthy of His work. All we have to do is believe what He believes; regardless of when our Walk becomes a crawls, we are worthy.