Growth Through Grace

When I was graduating, I locked myself up in a cottage for at least two weeks. My professor thought I had disappeared off the face of the earth and would never turn in a proper thesis. The reality was that I had not locked myself in that cottage, but locked myself away. From morning to night I worked continuously on my thesis. My professor laughed about it later and thought it was typical of me: to totally go into hiding for two weeks and resurface with a good thesis!

Simon Peter did not have that luxury, to isolate himself in a lonely place and only come out when he had solved everything and could move on again. Instead, he had to surrender to what it meant to follow Jesus: with all his shame and all his burden, to still stay connected with the disciples.

So, Simon Peter didn’t end up in a quiet place of healing. He ended up on the frontlines. After all the highs and lows, after the water-walking and the denial and the tears and the breakfast with Jesus—he stepped up. Not to tell his story, but to proclaim Jesus.

In Acts 4, he and John are arrested and dragged before religious leaders. These are the same circles that condemned Jesus, but Peter is unshaken. “Filled with the Holy Spirit,” he speaks with boldness. The people are stunned—not by eloquence, but by courage. And later in life, Peter would write to other leaders in the church—not as a big apostle, but as a “fellow elder.” He knew what it meant to lead with scars. To care for others not from a platform of success, but from a place of mercy. His tone is gentle, his words pastoral. He had been changed.

Maybe you feel your past disqualifies you. Maybe you think you’re too broken to lead anyone, let alone represent Jesus. But Peter would disagree. He’d tell you it’s not about being flawless. It’s about being willing. Available. Sent.

Where might God be calling you—not once you’re ready or perfect—but right now, simply because you belong with Jesus?

P.S. Are you enjoying this journey with Simon Peter? Your own character might even resemble his. Care to find out? Take our The Chosen 'Test of Character' and journey for a while with the character you have the most in common with.