Matthew 26:34 - Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny me three times."
Jesus, in his conversation with Peter, brings some truth that none of us would have loved to have heard. It was like someone throwing ice water into Peter's face. In fact Jesus' was responding to a statement that Peter had made. A statement that came from the flesh and not the spirit. Peter (and I'm sure he believed this statement) said that he would never turn his back on Jesus. It's hard to read this and see it as Peter bragging, or does he truly believe that he would never deny Christ. No matter which it was, Jesus was proven true. Peter denied Christ....not once or twice but three times. What pain Peter must have felt when he heard that rooster crow. All that Jesus had told him was now an uncovering of Peter's heart as the last of the rooster's crows died in echo's that faded away.
The sound of the crowing rooster faded, but the pain of Peter's denial would not go away. It pierced his heart like the nails that pierced the skin of Jesus. These events that we read in Scripture have always haunted me. Maybe that is not the best word to use, haunt, but when I read them I am made well aware of the potential that lives within me. The potential to deny Christ if I give it free reign in my heart. The potential to simply turn and walk away from everything. Knowing that this is a part of me, is the reason that I keep my focus on Him. Knowing that this is a part of me is the reason that I admit my own powerlessness and hopelessness as I cling to Christ for strength. Such is why I keep pressing on each day because I do not want to give room or an opportunity for this darkness to rise up.
As the old hymn says..."Jesus, keep me near the cross!" It is there that my brokenness is healed and I am made whole. It is at the cross that the things of this world fade away and the things of heaven become a reality. It is at the cross that the tattered and torn places of my life are laid down so that I may embrace a new life in Him. And it is at the cross that I lift my head and cry out "VICTORY!" over the ruler of this age....the god of this world. Victory because my life has been sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. Does this mean that I will be free of pain and suffering as I walk out my days here on this earth? No, not by a long shot. I think old Paul said it best when he wrote in Philippians 4:13...."I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." What Paul was really saying is that he can face whatever comes his way because Christ is his strength. Christ is all he needs to make it to the end of his life. You know what? I don't think things have changed since Paul made that statement. Christ is all I need. Christ is all you need. Let's spend the day thinking on this. Let's allow this truth to wrap itself around our brain and our heart, getting it all deep inside of us.
God on you...
mbb
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