Encouragement

---

“Peter said to Him, 'Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!'” - Matthew 26:35a

“The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed” - 1 Peter 5:1

“As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.” - Acts 8:3

“But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.” - Acts 9:22

When one looks at the verses quoted above one can see quite a change in these two men. What many miss, including myself until recently, is that in many ways these two men were still the same.

I am not referring to sin or the fallen nature of man. I am not referring to how these men still needed to grow or if the Lord failed to do as He would do (He had not failed). What I refer to is the personalities of these two men that remained. While the Lord was faithful to take from these men what did not please Him, there were things about them that remained. Things that pleased the Lord.

I refer to their personality.

Peter: In the Gospels we learn of a man who grew to be incredibly devoted to Jesus. While the two verses above show two different men they also show the same man, because they both show a devoted man. He was the one who was willing to step out of the boat into the storm while the other eleven stayed within. He was devotedly and boldly the one to declare who Jesus was. He was the one of two (Thomas included) who was willing to die for the Lord. While the Lord saw a man who was misguided in his devotion to Him He was not displeased with that devotion. It just needed to be redirected, refocused. A series of certain famous events would do that for Peter. After that we still see a devoted  servant of Christ, but one who depended on the Lord to be the strength of that devotion. Where before that devotion was a devotion that trusted in Peter, it later trusted in Jesus.

Paul: On the other hand Paul was a fighter, a contender. He was zealous and fervent; a juggernaut with no way to stop him. This was the same Paul even after his conversion. Where once he defended the traditions of his fathers, that fervor was redirected into defending the Gospel of Christ. Similar events would happen to change Paul as was done for Peter and the other remaining ten of Jesus' original disciples. Paul soon saw Who he was to defend as Truth.

What we see above in the verses are two men that Jesus loved. He loved them as their Creator and as their Savior. He died for the sins of the these two He intended to exist. While He was displeased with their state He was pleased with who them for who they were. While one was a simple peasant fisherman the other was a revered scholar. It made no difference to the Lord. He knew who He was and what He could do with them.

As a side-note look at the books in the Bible, even in their translated form. Moses' books do not read like Samuel's. David's writings do not read like Solomon's. Peter wrote differently than Paul as John wrote differently than James. While they revealed the Lord their personalities were apparent in their writings. This is true of any Christian writer today. They just will not be writing books to add to the Bible. Tozer did not write like C.S. Lewis as J. I. Packer did not try to be a Spurgeon. The Lord still used them in spite of and because of their personalities. You who work in the arts, be it writing, music, painting be who you are. I contend that part of the Lord's plan for your life involves who you are as an individual.

So while He took their sin He let them continue to be Peter and Paul. Their personalities played instrumental in their ministries. All they needed was a reason to be humble.

A risen Christ was the antidote. Please see Luke 24:36-43 and Acts 26:12-18.

Let us remember that this Jesus is still the same today as He was yesterday and will be so forever. While He hates our sin He loves us, whether we are a Bill, Paula, Stacy or Bob.

Those He loves He also likes. In this truth we can see two beauties.

One beauty of Jesus being our Example is that He is a template, which allows for the individual to continue. In like manner that individual only needs to see the risen Lord. I believe that is possible even if we do not have the dramatic revelation these two men had. This has been happening since Jesus rose from His tomb.

Another beauty of this is that Jesus is not into making cookie-cutter Christians. He likes the different personalities. It is more glorious to make His own like Him while keeping who they are. He is like the master yarn that makes other yarn with variegated colors of personalities. The church then is a rainbow of the glory of its Groom.

I submit that the Lord sees our personalities as a vehicle by which He can express Himself, much like a  Volkswagen Bug or a Rolls Royce. He loves to drive either. All that matters is the destination and Who is driving. When we say our name we are referring to who we are, our personality. When we say we are  Christians we are referring to our identity.

So in the church, please find the bold and the soft-spoken, the contender and the appeaser. Look for those who are people-persons and also those who are not. The Lord is so magnificent that He can use either, because He is the reason they are who they are. Maybe David realized this when he wrote,

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
         Marvelous are Your works,
         And that my soul knows very well.” - Psalm 139:14

It was your sin that the Lord threw as far as the East is from the West.

On the other hand, He kept you.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE