From Mouthy to Mouthpiece

I've always felt a connection to the Apostle Peter.  This man could not keep his mouth shut if his life depended on it.  He was constantly running his mouth or sticking his foot into it.  This man proclaimed that he would NEVER deny Christ and that very night he denied Christ not once, but THREE times!  Oh, Peter!

My favorite Peter story is when he walks on water with Jesus.  He sees Christ walking towards the boat and says, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." To me this indicates his faith that Jesus, in fact, does have the power to command such a thing.  So, Jesus calls his bluff and tells him to step out of the boat.  A moment later Peter feels a breeze, looks down and gets scared.  I can only imagine what was going through his head, 'What am I doing out here?  Humans can't walk on water, I'm going to die!' And that's when he looks to Christ and yells, "Lord, save me!"  It seems so silly to me...he believes Jesus has the power to make him walk on water, he actually gets out of the boat and begins to take a step but then immediately doubts the power with which is currently keeping him from sinking.  Then as panic sets in, he calls out for help (to the one who he apparently no longer believes holds power) to keep him alive! I'm sure in the moment it didn't seem that clear to him.  In the moment, things rarely seem clear at all.

Peter is a mess.  And that's why I like him.  He's just one of the many examples of the type of person the Lord uses for His work.  When God takes messy, ugly, sinful people and uses them to do great things, or creates a huge change in their character (think of the Apostle Paul) it brings Him glory.  Have you made it to the back of your Bible and seen who Peter becomes?  1st and 2nd Peter are two of my favorite books of the Bible.  Clearly he experienced a change due to his time with Christ and the events surrounding His death, resurrection and ascension. Peter, a man of wavering faith, becomes an amazing mouthpiece for Christ.

God takes ugly human shells, allows hardship, opposition, struggle, and strife to work as an abrasive to reshape us, smooth out the edges and shine us to a brilliant gloss; turning us into a valuable, beautiful, and durable pearl.  One that only becomes more radiant when removed from the safety of the worthless shell and exposed to the tenderness of His touch.

St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome, Italy
Picture credit here.

For the full story of :
Peter's big mouth syndrome, read Matthew 26:30-75
Peter's adventure on water, read Matthew 14
Paul's transformation, read Acts 9