I Peter 4 - II Peter 2

Second Chances

Peter knew a lot about second chances.

Each time Peter put his foot in his mouth during Jesus’ earthly ministry, Jesus would correct him (sometimes gently, sometimes harshly), but He never kicked Peter out of the inner circle.

Even when Peter denied Him three times, and He looked at Peter, He still loved him.

And when Jesus reinstated Peter and commissioned him to be the chief spokesperson of the church in its early days, Jesus called Peter to love Him and serve Him faithfully.

By the time Peter writes these letters, he is a different man than the hot-headed, ready-fire-aim, rough disciple we read about in the gospels. Korey did such a great job portraying Peter in his old age, talking with His Lord, and remembering how His grace had changed him forever.

And at the very end of his first letter, we learn Peter extended that same mercy and grace to Mark, also called John Mark elsewhere in the New Testament. Peter calls him his son, who is apparently by his side as he preaches and serves each day.

This is the same John Mark that Paul wrote off after he balked at facing the difficult trials Paul and Barnabas experienced on the road sharing the gospel (Acts 15:36-40). But Barnabas still believed in him, saw his potential, and took Mark with him to continue to preach and minister when he split from Paul. And, apparently, Mark served so well that Paul changed his mind about him, and wanted to again work side by side with him
(2 Tim 4:11).

This is the same Mark at whose house a group of disciples gathered to pray for the release of Peter from prison (Acts 12:12).

And it’s the same Mark, Peter’s spiritual son, who wrote the gospel, presumably coached by Peter.

Barnabas, the “son of encouragement”, and Peter, both took Mark under their wing and invested their time, energy, and wisdom in him. And he went from a scared little kid (Mark is the only one who records the story of the young man who fled the scene of Jesus’ arrest; Mark 14:51-52; not a particularly flattering account!) to the right-hand man, indispensable to the two greatest founders of the church after Jesus Himself.

Who invested in you, took you under their wing, to help you become who you are today? Have you thanked them?

Who are you investing in? God just might use you to shape the life of a mighty, though unlikely, warrior for the Kingdom.



Lee Thrasher
May 14