Day 38

"'But what about you?' he asked. 'Who do you say I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'"

Matthew 16:15-16

My theme today came from worship at my first day of seminary. I've been feeling pretty nervous, worried, terrified, etc. about starting seminary, and especially about going full-time. The admissions director preached on this text during the sermon today. She pointed out that Simon says a lot of really stupid, unplanned things while Jesus is alive. Yet he became one of the leaders of the first Christian church. How is that possible?

Because God uses even the least of us, those of us who have no idea what we're saying, those of us who make promises we can't keep, those of us who have faith for a great minute, only to use it the next. Peter did all these things, yet he also recognized Jesus for who he was and he wasn't afraid to proclaim it.

We can all learn a lot from Peter's example. Like Abraham, David, and Jonah before him, Peter made mistakes. He didn't always trust God when he should have. But God still chose him to be a leader. Like I said in a much earlier post, we are all called to be ministers wherever we are; we don't have to be perfect, though, and that's a relief.

The other "Jesus" thing I took from this passage is that we should encourage one another, even when one of us makes mistakes. I felt that encouragement tonight, and I hope all of you recognize your own value and power in God's great plan.