Understanding Which Battles to Fight

I always have admired Peter. He seems to represent so many of us who claim to be followers of Christ. One of the most revealing stories about Peter is the story of his denial of Christ. I have always admired the boldness of Peter. He was the one who seemed to be the most fearless of the disciples of Christ. He knew exactly what to say when the questions came up about loyalty but when the tests came his actions often came up short of his words.

We can quickly criticize someone like Peter for his denial of Christ but we are not so unlike him. Here are some things that I believe we need to understand about Peter's denial of Christ so that we will not fall victim to the same failures.

Luke 22:47-62

1) Peter was willing to kill for Jesus but he was not willing to die for him.

I can't tell you how many times I have heard Christians fight about beliefs in Christ but have not been willing to get out of the ring with other Christians and get on the front lines of battle where the real fight is. We love to talk about how we would do something if we were in someone else's situation but never put ourselves on the battlefield for Christ. Peter was trying to fight a battle that Jesus didn't approve of and failed to fight the one that mattered. We have to be careful about what battles we fight. Make sure they are approved by the Commander in Chief and that they promote the kingdom and not hinder it.

2) Peter followed Christ from a distance.

Following Christ means to follow Him when His popularity is waning. Peter loved it when he was present for the healing and miracles but when Christ was taken prisoner he began to distance himself from the radical teachings of Christ and denied that he even knew him. The days of Christianity being popular are fading and there may be a time in the not so distant future that following Christ closely will mean that we are treated cruelly. We can't distance ourselves from Biblical teaching and standing close to Christ.

3) Peter hung out with those who opposed Christ and tried to blend in.

Finally, Peter tried to distance himself so much from Christ that he sat with those who opposed Christ, not for the purpose of telling them about Christ, but for the purpose of self preservation. He didn't want to be associated with Christ if it meant an unpleasant life for himself.

Too many of us are more interested in fighting about Christ and not enough of us are fighting for Christ. Get on the front lines and let's do battle where Christ has commanded us to.