As the ages keep unfolding, the inexorable march of years,

Pen to paper has been put, and stories did appear.

Some were false, others true, all lines meant for the reader,

But more poignant line was never penned than

“The Lord turned and looked upon Peter.”

A man with stellar character, some flaws, oh yes indeed

Would curse and swear, “I know not the man” in His hour of greatest need.

The man who said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” could not stay awake,

But when Jesus turned and looked on Peter, we know his heart did break.

The crow of the cock preceded that awful look from Him

And as His eyes bore into Peter, so did Peter’s sin.

Peter could have turned and run away, seeking relief with each new step,

But that’s not what we are told he did; the Bible says, “He wept.”

On the great and glorious morning of not four days hence,

Through the mist of the early morning hours, four women walked.

An angel they were blessed to see and listened as he talked,

Go and tell His disciples, but Peter especially,

That you have seen the empty tomb, and they will see the Lord in Galilee.

When the Lord turned and looked at Peter, I know what I’d have done,

I would have shaken my head and turned away and said, “He’s not the one.”

He said if I must die with You that will be all right with me,

But when the time did come to pass, he failed miserably.

With arrogance born of pride and lack of empathy, I probably would have said, “Peter, get away from me.”

We have gone from, “The Lord turned and looked on Peter” to, “Go and tell him especially”

That his Lord had risen from the dead and would appear to him in Galilee.

Only the love of both Peter and of Jesus, kept Peter by His side,

With bitter tears I must admit, this same Jesus I’ve denied.

I have not cursed and sworn and shouted that I do not know the man,

But there have been times when He needed me most I failed to say, “I can.”

What of the man on the corner, did he even have a bed in which to sleep?

But I turned my head, averted my eyes, and with hand in pocket my money I did keep.

What about the brother who can no longer cut his grass?

Or what of the sister whose house-cleaning days are now long past?

Why can I see where Peter failed, but myself I cannot see?

“When you have done it unto one of these the least of My brethren, you have done it unto Me.”

I want to try harder, for His love I don’t deserve,

And I know the reason I am here is to live my life to serve.

Of all the lines ever written or words spoken in the unfolding tale of history,

I never want to have it written, that the Lord turned and looked at me.

Greg Litmer

THE APOSTLES

            I find that a study of the twelve men chosen by the Lord to be His apostles, along with Matthias and Paul, always serves to lift my heart and encourage my spirit.  In Luke 6:12-16, we find, “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter), and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.”

            After spending the night in prayer, Jesus made the choice of these twelve men to serve as His specially chosen messengers.  As the gospel accounts unfold, we find that generally speaking these were men who had not enjoyed the benefits of higher education.  We find them manifesting many of the popular Jewish prejudices and superstitions of the time.  There were times when they displayed a carnal ambition, a desire to hold positions of preeminence and prestige.  In Mark 9:33-35, we find one such instance.  “And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?  But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.  And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and the servant of all.”  This would continue to be a problem, for less than 24 hours before His death, these men who walked with Him for three years, argued among themselves who would be the greatest (Luke 22:24).

            They were often slow to understand things that Jesus repeatedly taught them.  One that would have been most frustrating to me was their continued failure to grasp what the Lord meant when He told them what was going to happen to Him.  At various times Jesus told the twelve that He would be betrayed into the hands of the chief priests and be condemned to death.  He told them that He would be delivered into the hands of the Gentiles who would mock Him, scourge Him, and finally crucify Him.  He told them that after three days He would rise again. Yet, Luke 18:34 tells us, “And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”

            There have been times when I have wondered why Jesus put up with these men and their obvious failings.  Why didn’t He replace them with men of greater education and sophistication who would seemingly be able to more immediately grasp the nuances of His teaching?  But then I remember 1 Samuel 16:7, “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” Jesus knew these men, their hearts.  They would come to believe so completely in Jesus and to be so entirely committed to Him, that they would learn any lesson, endure any hardship, and even die for Him if necessary.

            These men give me hope, because they weren’t perfect either.  Yet, because of their association with Jesus, they would grow to be men whose work has changed the world.  The work that I can do for the Lord may not be of the magnitude of these men, but I can help to change my little corner of this old earth.

                                                Greg Litmer