John MacArthur calls Peter the disciple with the food-shaped mouth. I identify strongly with this weakness of Peter’s, having a special knack for inserting my own foot squarely into my mouth on many occasions. Although my verbal faux pas live on in my memory, Peter’s indiscretions were recorded for posterity throughout the Gospels.
I hear Peter say, “But if you say so,” when Jesus instructed him to cast the fishing nets again. Peter, the professional fisherman, reluctantly followed Jesus’ instruction, doubtful that Jesus might know better than him (Luke 5:5).
I hear Peter blurt impetuously into the very face of the living God “You will never wash my feet!” as Jesus humbly kneeled before him (John 13:8).
I hear presumptuous Peter brag “Even if everyone else falls away, I will not” before he denied Christ three times (Mark 14:29).
But maybe most astonishing to me is when Peter told Jesus at the transfiguration, “It is good that we are here.” (Matthew 17:4). I imagine him saying it with an air of pride and importance and ignorance of what he is witnessing. Here before him was the glory of God in human form, something many would dream of but few would witness. And Peter, in the midst of all of this, couldn’t help but feel pride and say aloud his own importance at being there.
Perhaps I’m misinterpreting Peter. Maybe as he stood there, his heart was more aligned to submission and service than I give him credit for. Many times the words emerging from my mouth do not come across in the way I intend them. Maybe Peter suffered from the same problem.
Peter’s foot in mouth syndrome revealed something important about his character. Peter was bold in word and deed. He was the disciple who asked the most questions of Jesus, more than the other disciples combined. He was curious, inquisitive, seeking, and was audacious enough to ask of Jesus the things that he wanted to know. He was also quick to answer Jesus’ questions. He answered wrong many times, and yet rarely did Jesus rebuke him for it. Jesus seemed to appreciate Peter’s boldness, his quickness with his words. Or at the very least Jesus was not bothered by the way Peter responded to or asked questions.
With Jesus being God and God knowing everything there is to know, we can safely assume Jesus knew Peter’s personality well before he called Peter to be a disciple. It wouldn’t be a jump to conclude Jesus appreciated Peter’s boldness, even having plans for that boldness – to use it for his glory, his church, his kingdom. Maybe the things we are most concerned about in our own personalities are the very things that Jesus will mold and use as we serve him wholeheartedly in faith.
Peter didn’t have to clean up his personality, squash his boldness, or keep his foot out of his mouth before God began to use him. Jesus’ willingness to choose Peter showed confidence that Peter could glorify God both as he was and as the man he would become, both in the right now and in the future, as Peter matured and grew through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the right now, I’m a weary mom with a loud and strong personality who thinks and says the wrong things too often. Yet Jesus delights in using me now, as the woman I am.
At the same time, I am becoming. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus continues to transform me, to grow me, to sanctify me. And in the becoming, I also glorify him.
Peter wasn’t always called Peter. It was Jesus who changed his name from Simon to Peter, meaning “rock.” When Jesus changed his name, Peter wasn’t much of a rock. He would still say questionable things, answer wrongly, have Jesus call him “Satan,” and deny Christ three times. But Jesus knew how Peter would mature. By changing his name, Jesus seems to call Peter into a better version of himself, to give him vision for the man he could become.
This is the journey motherhood has been for me. The moment that baby looked up at me the first time, I realized I was wholly unprepared and ill equipped to be a mother. Yet all through this season, I have heard Jesus calling me into a better version of myself. I sense the vision for the woman he wants me to become as he sanctifies me and grows me to look more like him. That growth doesn’t happen smoothly, without pain, or without mistakes. But it’s happening, just as it did for Peter.
God is big enough to use all of us, just as we are, for his glory. He is great enough, powerful enough, and good enough to continue to grow us over time. He loves us and delights in inviting us into his work and his glory always.
Even you. Even me. Even Peter.
Lord, you created us with these personalities, strengths, and even these weaknesses. You delight in who we are and in who we are becoming, in and through you. Give us the desire to serve you faithfully and to glorify your name both now and forevermore. Amen.