So they arrested him and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance. Luke 22:54 (NLT)
Peter had spent a lot of time with Jesus. Jesus spent more time with Peter, James and John than the rest of the twelve. Peter knew him and he knew him well. He’d seen him heal people. He’d seen him raise someone from the dead. He’d heard him talk about God and his mission and he knew the depth of the love that Jesus had for him.
Yet, when Jesus was arrested, Peter was afraid. The Bible says he followed at a distance. He joined a crowd by the fire and tried to blend in. He didn’t want to stand out. He didn’t want to be noticed. What he wanted was to be near enough to know what was going on but not engaged enough to be at risk.
When the people around the fire directly asked him questions about who he knew, he denied it. After all, admitting that he was a Christ follower could have consequences. There would be a ripple effect, fallout and possibly a sacrifice he was not willing to make.
Let me ask you. How often do we act like Peter? In our world of conforming and fitting in, do we shy away from being different? Do we try to walk the middle line and not stand out? Do we hide our convictions so as to not draw attention to ourselves?
God wants us to be all in. He wants us to take a stand and do what is right. He wants us to be so in love with him that we are willing to take a risk and say “Yes!” to his calling.
What about you? Are there areas in your life that you need to define more clearly? Are there areas where God is calling you to take a risk? Will you walk away from the crowd by the fire and be different?