Devotional Reading: Luke 22: 52-62

Text: …but Peter was following at a distance. (vs. 54b)

I once read that the problem with many Christians is that they have been inoculated with the faith; they have been exposed to Christianity just enough not to catch a full-blown case. I refer to these people as “cultural Christians”. In either case, we follow Jesus up to a point; up to the point of finding Jesus hard.

In that way we are a lot like Peter, following Jesus from a distance. When getting too close to Jesus is uncomfortable, we back away. We keep silent in the face of jokes that denigrate others, let alone abuse them. We look the other way and pretend that we do not see the injustice in our midst.  We hope that someone else will do something because we are afraid to do anything. We use prayer as a shield against involvement. In a thousand and one different ways, like Peter, we deny Jesus.

The story of Peter does not end with his following at a distance. Jesus knew that Peter’s faith was weak or less than mature, to be kind. He came to Peter again after the Resurrection. He continues to come to us again and again, always calling, always encouraging and always prodding through the circumstances of our lives to become stronger disciples.

Lord, do not give up on me even when I give up on You. Let me hear Your Voice continually in my faith journey until at the very end I hear your whisper saying “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen.