John 18: 17
17"You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter.
He replied, "I am not."
When I read this passage, where Peter denies Christ, I always think of what I call the quiet Christian. Peter denied Christ out of fear of being arrested or persecuted as one of Christ’s followers. One might say he feared for his life, so he lied. That is how the quiet Christian lives. You know them, perhaps you yourself from time to time have done the same. The subject of Christ comes up, and they get quiet, when beliefs are questioned, they do the easy thing…..they agree with the group. In short, Christ is denied once again. If we were to ask, we would find that it is done today for much of the same reasons as Peter did it. The quiet Christian fears for their life…..oh it might not be literally….. but they do fear death….. social death, they fear that they will no longer be accepted as part of the group. They want to live in this world….Yet by denying Christ they jeopardize their spiritual life. Christ would never hesitate to claim anyone of us as his own….think about that. Think of your past, think of others past, I know that I have some pretty dark spots in my past, but I know without a doubt that Christ would not only say he knew me, he would accept me, he would love me, and he would defend me from anyone who might attempt to tear me down. If he has that much love for each of us, how could we even think of denying Him….how could we entertain the though of doing anything other than defending His name, His life, and His teachings? Yes, we all will find ourselves at some time or another in a situation where we feel like Peter, we will feel threatened, and we will feel unsure of how we will be taken, but I urge each of you, stand firm on the rock of Christ, don’t be the quiet Christian, take the stand for Christ, He would, and has done more you each of us already!
God Bless,
Brian Thetford
The New
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