What About You?
By Jack Wyman
There are many unforgettable characters found in the Bible.
Some are strange, some are evil, others great. They represent struggles of the flesh and triumphs of the spirit; failure and achievement; debauchery and nobility; goodness and greed.
Ambition and humility.
The stories of their lives and exploits have filled many a Sunday school lesson, illustrated many a sermon, and become legendary to those of us who cherish the great and wise Book.
The Bible doesn’t presume to whitewash the characters of scripture.
There are no plaster saints, just ordinary men and women God chooses, uses, guides, protects, and blesses. Their lives run the full gamut of human emotions and experiences. From them, we draw cautionary tales and heroic inspiration.
The apostle Peter is one of my favorites. What a guy!
Peter uttered the most devastating and tragic denial of anyone in history. He also expressed some of the greatest and most profound examples of courageous loyalty and spiritual insight ever recorded. From, “I don’t even know him,” to “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
The apostle who alone dared to get out of the boat to come to Jesus on the water moments later began to sink in fear of the storm. Jesus lifted him to safety from the angry waves and told him he needed to have more faith.
How can you not love Peter? There’s some of him in all of us. Fear and courage; doubt and faith. It’s the struggle within us all. Daily.
On this day, when the crowds began to turn away from Jesus because he didn’t run his teachings by a public opinion consultant, and say the safe and comfortable things many leaders say, Jesus turned to his disciples and asked them:
“Are you also going to leave?” (John 6:67).
Peter spoke. Of course, he did. “Lord” [Peter knew who Jesus was], “to whom shall we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe [Peter spoke for them all, as he usually did], and we know you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68).
We believe. We know. There is no other person, no other idea, no other faith or confidence, or hope, we would embrace and follow. Peter's question was rhetorical. Peter knew the answer before he asked. “You—and you alone—have the words of eternal life."
You, Jesus, are the greatest truth and you are our greatest and only hope. Why would we ever go anywhere else?
We don’t know what’s ahead—for you or for us. We only know we believe in you and we will follow you, no matter what.
They would remain loyal. They would take his side, come what may. Though one would betray Jesus, the others would be faithful to him to their deaths.
Yes, they all hid while Jesus faced his crucifixion alone. He had told them that would happen.
After his resurrection, Jesus re-grouped the eleven. Including Peter. He empowered them, these ordinary men, to become men of great faith and courage. They would be used by God to transform the world forever. To turn it upside down. That was still ahead.
On this day, the crowds were starting to leave. Jesus was losing his audience. Would his disciples stay? Jesus knew what they were thinking—and what they would do. He asked them anyway. He challenged them to a decision. To a choice. To a personal declaration of their discipleship.
He knew what that choice and that declaration meant. He knew what it would cost these men.
There’s comfort and security in the majority. There’s uncertainty in the minority. Public opinion shifts. Values shift with it. Doubt creeps in with subtlety. Being with the crowd must be right. How could all these be wrong? Maybe I’m the one who’s wrong. Maybe I’ve been wrong all along. Who really wants to be left alone, to stand alone, to think alone, or to act alone?
Our confidence slips. Satan whispers. What if all this is a delusion? What if this life is as good as it gets? What if there is nothing beyond the grave? Suppose everyone you admire and respect turns the other way?
Do you really want to be left by yourself? What will others say? What will they think? What do they think? After all, there’s safety in numbers. When those numbers dwindle is when the test comes.
Who wants to be Marshal Will Kane in the movie High Noon, facing the outlaws alone, while the well-intended but cowardly townspeople hide?
The writer of Hebrews reassures us that, “We who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls” (Hebrews 6:18-19).
Is your anchor holding strong? Or are you starting to drift in your beliefs; led away by bewitching thoughts of popular accommodation? It’s not only in this world we must stand and think, and speak our convictions. These days, it’s also in the church itself. Such are the strong currents of the cultural tide.
Later, when Peter, “filled with the Holy Spirit”, spoke before a powerful assembly of the religious leaders who had crucified Jesus Christ, he declared with confidence his convictions and his faith. God had raised Jesus from the dead, he told them.
Perhaps remembering that day when he declared his allegiance to his Lord, Peter added:
“Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, emphasis added).
What about you?
To whom shall you go?
To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to Amazon, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.
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