As guilty as Peter

               When I was growing up, I was lucky enough (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) to be raised in a home of firm believers.  Part of the routine was attending church at least once a week, but as I got older I began attending church for various reasons multiple times a week.  As a result, I’d heard the story of Peter and his denial of Christ many times.  For those unfamiliar you can read the entire story in Matthew 26: 33-35, Mark 14: 29-31, Luke 22: 33-34, or John 13: 36-38.  I highly recommend reading and studying the story a bit if you are unfamiliar with it; but in essence Peter (a man who spent quite a bit of time with Jesus himself) was accused of not only knowing Jesus, but being affiliated with him.  On three separate occasions Peter denied even knowing Jesus, let alone being affiliated with him.  Ironically, Jesus had even told him in prior to his denials that he would do this, and Peter being the good upstanding and brave person that he was told Jesus that he was wrong.  [Hind sight is always 20/20, but can you imagine telling Jesus that he would be wrong about something?  Different discussion for another time I know but still….)           

               At any rate; if you had asked me years ago if I would have ever denied Christ I would’ve said you were insane.  At that point in my life, the thought of denying him not only seemed ridiculous, but unfathomable.  Then in 2002 I joined the U.S. Navy, and while I was in boot camp we were issued dog tags.  These tags are used to identify not only you as a person, but brief medical information about you such as your blood type, inoculations, etc.  At the bottom of your dog tags is your religious preference as well.  The point of having that information is that should you die for whatever reason, the dog tags let the world know what sort of religious ceremony should be performed.  So if I were Catholic, I could have Catholic printed at the bottom of my dog tags.  If I were Muslim, I could have Muslim printed at the bottom of my tags. 

At any rate, when I was in boot camp I was given the opportunity to basically have “no comment” printed at the bottom of my tags.  They would have come with “No Rel Pref” (no religious preference).  The bottom line is that while I may have not had outright verbally denied knowledge of Jesus the same way that Peter did, I essentially did.  Of course I didn’t realize this at the time (hindsight is always 20/20); I did nonetheless.  It is a singular thought and guilt that still confounds and saddens me to this day.

That said… there is good news!  Perhaps you yourself have denied Christ in various forms or ways.  Perhaps you are guilty the same way that Peter was, and flat out verbally denied the existence of him.  Perhaps you thought it to yourself; or you agreed with the different writings or sayings of other people.  Maybe you agreed with the writings or sayings of some of the "so called greats”.  After all; “who am I to argue with Neil deGrasse Tyson? (Or substitute his name with any other famous or scholarly person).  Should we dismiss it?

I do not believe so, but what’s to say that his thoughts or theories can’t coexist with the existence of a creator?  Ironically, many of the evolutionists are more adamant about the proof and case for evolution, than Christians are about the case for Christ!  I personally am not saying that any of those people are necessarily wrong, but what I’m saying is that it is possible for thier to be room for their theories as well as others.

At any rate, if you find yourself in the same shoes as me (or Peter), you should know that Christ essentially doesn’t care that we denied him.  I personally believe there is not one sin greater than the others.  Christ himself told the thief on the cross next to him that he would join him that day in paradise (Luke 23: 43).  If you have any questions or thoughts regarding this blog (or any other that I’ve posted) by all means, please email or send me a message and I will respond as quickly as I can.  I believe that Christ has died for ALL of our sins no matter how great or small; and denying him is no different.  It is not greater or smaller than any of the other sins we sadly commit on a regular basis.  For what it’s worth, I think that is important to note that Peter in spite of his denials is listed as one of Jesus’s favorite disciples.  He later went on to write I Peter and II Peter and be a prominent speaker after the day of Pentecost.  (Read for your own knowledge if desired).  As it is currently Christmas season… don’t forget the reason for the season!  

Incremental Steps

I’ve wanted to update this for quite some time now, but I never really knew how or what to say.  I probably won’t update this blog all that often, but I wanted to post this…

Earlier a few weeks ago I heard a Freakanomics podcast entitled “The Praise of Incrementalism”.  While the podcast itself was great (Freakanomics has put out some of my personal favorites) I immediately hearkened to our spiritual lives.  The reality is that we as a nation tend to think of major or colossal events as being the catalyst for major change.  In particular the podcast went on to talk about how homosexual marriage is now legal, and the overarching opinion or thoughts regarding homosexual marriage has changed drastically over the years.  It spoke of a time not that long ago, when being a homosexual was considered crazy by many, even by the medical community.  It also talked about racism and the way we view people of different colors and races.

This post isn’t about homosexual marriage or racism, but the point was that it only started with ONE person or group standing up for what they believed in.  That ONE person or group led to a larger community doing the same, and so on and so on.  Was Rosa Parks or Matlin Luther King the first person (or people) to stand up for black rights?  Of course not.  They were just the most popular people and as a result are attributed to the cause.  They are to this day considered to be some of the people who were major catalysts of the black movement.

At any rate, it really got me to consider the changes in our lives from a spiritual perspective.  If you were to think about “the Godliest person you know”, do you suspect they became that way over night?  Chances are… … no.  I suspect if you were to ask that person how they got to be the way they were, they would likely tell you it took a lifetime (or set amount of time) of commitment and dedication to the cause.  In all likelihood it was “a series of incremental steps”.  I heard on a separate podcast that the people we might consider to be “great people” in the Christian faith like Paul did much of their “training” while in the waiting periods.  

Most of us probably know (or should know anyways) that Paul was traveling to Damascus when he encountered Christ for the first time.  After spending a portion of his life persecuting the followers of Christ, he obviously had a sudden change of heart.  I believe it was Greg Surrat (lead pastor of Seacoast church) who preached to the crowd that after encountering Christ, Paul went out to the desert for a while.  It was there that Christ stretched him and molded him in to being the man that he became.

I thought this is important because while major events and changes obviously do and can happen, and particularly at someone’s conversion to Christ; it is the lifetime of pursuit and striving to be like him that makes us who we are.  It is what gives the appearance of “being Godly”.  I look back at my own life and at certain points, you would never know that I was a Christian unless you asked.  I may not run across the streets or shout “Jesus will save!” from my rooftop; but that doesn’t mean I’m any less laved.  I hope that other people know and can tell that I’m “not normal” and I will always be willing and happy to talk about it.  The truth and reality though is that sometimes I don’t feel saved.  I feel like I probably don’t talk about it or share it as much as I should.

While I may not appear on the surface to be saved (like the Billy Graham’s of the world) it is the little things or incremental steps that we can take in life that get us to where God would have us.  Before my crazy accident I used to have a mouth like a sailor.  I was in the Navy for six years prior to my accident, but that doesn’t change anything.  I literally defined and exemplified the term “having a mouth like a sailor.”  I don’t anymore, and yes I do let the occasional swear word fly… but overall cussing or dirty language is not part of my life and vocabulary.  As it says: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:28)  To be honest, dirty language was such a part of my life that I really wasn’t sure if I could ever “turn it off”. 

At any rate, my point is this: 

"While we may expect and hope for giant changes and gains; it is often the baby or incremental steps that get us to the end."  

 In the end all I know is I want to be with the Lord.