Jeremy L. Berg

Peter said, “Master, I’m ready for anything with you. I’d go to jail for you. I’d die for you!” Jesus said, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Peter, but before the rooster crows you will have three times denied that you know me.” (Luke 22:33-34)

Dear Peter Bjorn,

The first thing you should know about your daddy, your mommy, your extended family, and the church is that we are all broken people.  We are all marred by sinfulness deep within our hearts. Left to our own devices, we would all be in a world of trouble.  We all are “works in progress,” and require patience as we grow into the people God wants us to be.

The first thing you should know about the God who created you is that He is a God of GRACE. He loves us as we are, even in our rebellion and sin.  He doesn’t wait for us to get our act together to draw near to us. No, he extends his love and grace to us while we are yet running away from Him.  “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5). God is patient with us as he moulds us into people who more and more reflect his son Jesus.

Nobody in the Bible illustrates this “work in progress” reality better than Simon Peter. He is as human as it gets. He is as ordinary and flawed as anybody. As you read about Simon Peter in the Bible you will discover that God is fond of using ordinary people to accomplish his work in the world.  (If you need further proof, consider your daddy.)  Peter was just a blue collar fisherman from a small village on the sea of Galilee. He wasn’t all that educated, not at the top of his class.  His personality, qualities and character are all over the map.  Consider the following description:

“The character of Peter is one of the most vividly drawn and charming in the New Testament. His sheer humanness has made him one of the most beloved and winsome members of the apostolic band. He was eager, impulsive, energetic, self-confident, aggressive, and daring, but also unstable, fickle, weak, and cowardly. He was guided more by quick impulse than logical reasoning, and readily swayed from one extreme to the other. He was preeminently a man of action. His story exhibits the defects of his qualities as well as the tremendous capacities for good which he possessed. He was naturally forward and often rash, liable to instability and inconsistency, but his love for and associations with Christ moulded him into a man of stability, humility and courageous service for God, becoming one of the noble pillars (Gal. 2:9) of the Church” (The New Compact Bible Dictionary, pp. 450-452). 

Our dear Peter Bjorn, we named you Peter because we fully expect your life and growth to be as gradual and imperfect as Simon Peter’s. We know that you are filled with your own mixed potential for both great accomplishments and great failures. We celebrate with the Bible that God is fond of working with hard pieces of clay like you and me.  We also know that if we want to really reach our full potential for our lives, we must soften our hearts and offer ourselves as more humble, moldable clay. Peter, you are a masterpiece in the making. Follow the example of Simon Peter who, despite his weak moments and embarrassing blunders, kept recommitting himself to the Lord Jesus, and in the end was a great and mighty servant of the Lord.