Little Distance

Peter had been walking with Jesus for over two years. He had seen Him do miraculous things. But on the night before the crucifixion, Peter fell. He did the unthinkable. He did what he swore he would never do. He denied his relationship to Jesus not just once, but three times. All of the gospels record his denials to one degree or another. (If I am Peter, this stinks. There are only a few things repeated in all the gospel accounts and I get my mistake recorded four times.)

What got Peter in trouble was the same thing that gets us in trouble. In Luke's gospel, we are given a small detail that gives us big insight to what got Peter to go astray. It seems minor on the surface. But it is the root cause of Peter's fall. Luke 22:54 says after Jesus was arrested and led away that "Peter followed at a distance." This is what got him in trouble. It is what gets me into trouble. I sometimes start following Jesus from a distance. I am like a middle schooler who wants to look independent so I walk a good deal behind my parents at the mall so all my friends might think I am on my own. My parent's cramped my style like Jesus does sometimes. What we fail to realize is that we are dependent on Jesus like a child is with his parents. If we try to make it on our own we usually end up falling into some sin we thought we would never commit. We get ourselves in jams that we can't get out of on our own.

I think it's a principle like this...a little distance can go a long ways. James tells us to draw near to God. That's part of what it means to follow. If you create a little distance by neglecting to stay close to Jesus through disciplines of the faith then it won't be long before you find yourself a long way from Jesus. And that's not good.

So, let's close the gap this week and hang close to Jesus.