SPEAKING WITH KNOWLEDGE

One of the earmarks of inspiration - at least in my estimation - is how God often provides an unsavory account or two of some of the Bible's greatest heroes of faith, like David, Noah and Peter. They too often fell short of God's glory, and I am exceedingly glad that the Lord saw fit to provide a broad view of their lives - blemishes and all.

Furthermore, without this balanced and realistic portrait of God's most faithful servants, we as New Covenant followers of God might very well have a skewed view of the harsh realities of sin, sorrow and the shame associated with it. One of the greatest examples of perseverance is the apostle Peter. What an incredible soldier of the cross; he just never quit.

One of Peter's most admirable qualities was his eagerness to please Jesus. Oftentimes, however, he was also eager to speak sometimes without thinking. For example, in Matthew 16 after promising to build His church, Jesus told His disciples that He must, "be killed and raised again on the third day." Peter quickly responded, "Be it far from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee." (Matthew 16:20-22). Jesus then said to him, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense to me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." (Matthew 16:23).

While Peter meant well, he spoke without true understanding of Jesus' mission. Eagerness if fine, but let us couple it with knowledge. Knowing the Word will help keep us from stumbling.

Steve Harris