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Friday, March 29, 2013
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter
Many people have a reputation for being good Christians in churches; then they secretly break with God and there is a lack of communion. The fires burn low and they hardly feel any sense of God at all; and yet they have to keep it up, so they may even allow themselves to get elected to boards and to young people's groups, to choirs and all the rest. I am afraid the whole thing is hopeless, because the heart had slipped away. When God finds our hearts slipping, and we will not admit it to ourselves in our secret moments, we have gotten to a place where, if we told the truth, we are bored with God and religion. We would not admit it -- we would be ashamed to admit it, but there it is.
What do you think God thinks about us? Jesus, in the book of Revelation, said, "Nevertheless I have this against you, because you have left your first love" (2:4). He chided that church because they were losing their affection but would not admit it. Not an elder in the Ephesian church who stood to preach; not a deacon that ever passed the plates; not a member of the board would ever dare to get up and say, "I'm tired of God. I'm weary of this whole business." Jesus said, "I don't feel the warmth I used to feel. Your smile is not there; your breath is not so warm; the tone of your voice is not so affectionate. I miss it." He said, "You've left your first love."
In Galatians 6:1, Paul tell us, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently." The words used there are medical terms and mean that when an arm or shoulder gets out of joint, it gets snapped back in. I pray that God will do us the inestimable favor of going from heart to heart, mind to mind, and soul to soul -- that He will test us with His spiritual Geiger counter. And if there is a cooling off in there, He will find it and cure it.
Remember when Jesus looked upon Peter. Scripture says, "And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, 'Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.' And he went out and wept bitterly" (Luke 22:61-62).
I do not know what Jesus said. He simply turned and looked at Peter. The woman said, "Are you one of His followers?" and Peter said, "No."
She said, "It's your accent."
He said, "I'm not."
She said again, "You are. Your speech betrays you."
Then he said, "I'm not a Christian. I am going to do something no Christian would do." So he cursed. His actions were saying that if he acted like a Christian, he might be arrested along with Jesus. So in order to prove that he was not a Christian, he was going to curse, and so he cursed (Matthew 26:74). She finally said, "Oh, well he's right. He is not a Christian."
Just before He died, Jesus turned and looked at that cursing apostle. Peter was not well educated, but he was a genius in his own right, and he looked up into that face, and what he saw in that face of hurt and pain and sorrow and longing and love was too much for Peter. He hurried out of the house and stood outside somewhere, and with his face to his hands, he wept bitterly. The Greek language indicates an uncontrolled torrent of weeping; yet Jesus never said a word. He just looked at Peter.
I wonder if the tender Jesus will not look at you -- just look, that is all. How will you respond?
Tozer, A.W. "The Process of Backsliding" The Danger of a Shallow Faith: Awakening from Spiritual Lethargy, pg. 67-69
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