| And the Lord said,
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may
sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail
not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. (Luke 22:31-32
AV)
I don’t know that we can really
imagine what it was like for Peter to stare directly into the eyes of
Jesus as Jesus said, "I have prayed for you." Yet, for a moment
let us try and stand in Peter’s shoes so to speak. Christ who knew all
about Peter and his weaknesses was speaking to him personally. A friend
who in this case knew that before dawn Peter would deny he even knew Him,
yet here He stood saying, "I have prayed for you." Bring this
scene home with you. What value would you place on such words of
confidence and support by a friend who was not judging you by past
experience, nor future expectations, but is standing with you because you
are his friend?
Peter was moved deeply, for he
immediately made a promise he would not keep, and for a short time appear
to forget altogether, until he heard the cock crow. I think most of us
would be so moved and vow undying loyalty to such a friend who stood with
us no matter how wrong we were, who cared enough to be there when it
counted without regard of circumstance. I think we too have made such
vows, at least within our own hearts, where perhaps we are the only one
who knows of it, or its later trampled condition when for some obscure
reason we fail to be there for the same friend who has always been there
for us.
In the same passage this moving
scene is brought to us, however, we see the purpose of such friendship,
that we will be a friend to those who come after us. This may not be the
motivation nor intent of our friend’s undying loyalty to us, but it is a
biblical truth, we are blessed that we might be a blessing.
Don’t grieve the heart of
Christ who died for us, that we might have life and that eternal. I
believe God sends a limited number of such friends into each life. Perhaps
only one such friend in a lifetime. As surely as our sovereign God
arranges such soul mates, the blessing is intended for us to pass to
others. When will we realize that when we practice biblical principles,
the blessings are multiplied. You cannot have a friend unless you are a
friend. Can we not see that in passing along our friendship to another, we
now have two friends, and these two four. This puts practical application
to the command of Christ that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves
(Mt. 19:19).
Do a little math and see how long
such reproducing friendships would take to reach a population the size of
your home town. I think the answer will surprise you, no matter how large
that city. Unconditional love should get love in return. Nonetheless,
often in human experience this will not be the case. Be not dishearted,
for there is another only a smile away to whom God would have you share
His love for you with. Or you can choose to hoard the blessing, and never
know the joy of giving of yourself for another, and watch what was
intended by God for a blessing, a true friend, turn to shame and
bitterness. Or like Peter, because we have such a friend, we can overcome
our failures and change the world we live in, one person at a time.
By: Dr. Chuck Baynard
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