Now You Are

"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." (Matt. 16:18)

There is a play on words in the original language here. The name Peter means "small rock", or pebble. It is a greater "rock" that Jesus speaks of building His church on. It is the recognition that He is the Christ. It is the element of faith that discovers, finally, the truth about Jesus. You recall, in John 1, Jesus had said, "You are Simon, you will be Peter."

That is how Jesus is in our lives. He sees us not so much for who we are, but for who He can make us. And that transformation becomes when we realize who He is and allow Him to be Lord in us. It is not instantaneous, but rather a journey. One of the incredible things is to trace Peter through the New Testament and watch His journey as God changes him. Much like the signs on the side of the road that say, "Under Construction". When we surrender to Christ, for the rest of our journey in this world, we are under construction.

Simon came to represent who he was in the old nature. Peter represents who He is becoming in Christ. And those two natures, the old and new surface from time to time in our observations of this man. He is so much like us. We can take great joy in the fact that if God could use a broken and flawed fisherman like Peter, He can also use us.