Garry started a character study looking at the apostle Peter this Sunday evening. Peter is the disciple mentioned in all 4 Gospel accounts about whom the most information is given; highly vocal, often impetuous, his life is one with which we easily identify.
Garry looked at Peter’s first meetings with Jesus and how he gradually became aware of who Jesus was. His was a gradual dawning of understanding: first, his brother (Andrew) introduced him to ‘the Messiah’ (John 1:41), but even after he had witnessed miracles of healing, he was still more interested in cleaning his fishing nets than in listening to Jesus’s teaching. Only after the miraculous catch of fish recorded in Luke 5 does Peter become aware of his own sinfulness in relation to who Jesus is and hears the call of Jesus to give up his life as a fisherman to become a ‘fisher of men’.
All of us, at some point, face that moment of decision, when we either heed the call of Jesus or walk away. Some (like the rich young ruler) choose to walk away. Peter chose to follow Jesus. May we too learn what it means to put Jesus at the centre of our lives and follow Him whole-heartedly.