TODAY’S MEDITATION – Follow Jesus, not man… (Mark 1:17)

Jesus’s first words to Simon Peter were “Come, follow me” (Mark 1:17). His last words to him were “follow me” (John 21:22). My brother, my sister, do we realise that every step of the way between those two challenging sentences, Peter never failed to FOLLOW Jesus, even though he often stumbled?

Yes, when Jesus entered Peter’s life, he became a new person with new goals and new priorities. Peter did not become perfect and he never stopped being Simon Peter. My friend, have you ever wondered what Jesus saw in Simon Peter that made Him greet him with a new name: Peter, the ‘rock’. As we read the Gospel, we discover that Peter was impulsive and certainly did not act like a rock much of the time. In fact, the truth is that when Jesus chose His followers, He wasn’t looking for models, He was looking for real people. And this is still true today: Jesus chooses people who can be changed by His love, so He can send them out to communicate that His acceptance is available to anyone, often to those who often fall.

My friend, you may wonder what Jesus sees in you when He is calling you to follow Him. Stop asking yourself questions. Like Peter, just turn your goals and priorities to the Lord. Then you will find out that, your failures or shortcomings are not what He is looking at, but what He can do with you is all that matters. Yes, Peter went on to do great things for God. Let Peter’s example teach us that when we are truly willing to follow Jesus, even when we fail, the Lord will only look at His plan for you, not at what people see or think about our failures or shortcomings. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.