Yesterday we visited the church of the Primacy of St Peter, or as our guide called it, Church of the Restoration. We gathered like children in Hebrew school, under the cool embrace of a sycamore tree in the heat of the day. Our teacher deposited truth and we received it with eager hearts, via a small receiver in our ears. He spoke of Peter’s painful denial. We know it was painful because it hurt him to speak of it (John 21:7) and yet Jesus persisted, pressing into the still-open wound. Our guide shared how just before this conversation, Peter had been fishing all night long, yet such arduous efforts yielded nothing. After the crucifixion the disciples had returned to regular lives but found them fruitless apart from their Savior. Yet Jesus arrives on the shore and instructs them to fish from the other side, obedience brings back fullest nets.
I was reminded how we need to come to the end of ourselves before we’re truly ready to to give Jesus our all. How after an encounter with Him, our regular life feels futile. We know we have been recreated for more, yet more requires complete and recurrent surrender. Jesus tells us as much at the end of this exchange.
“Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” (John 21:18 NIV)
Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death Peter would have, but I also believe it speaks of the volume of our given lives. An immature believer still goes and does as he wills. A mature believer has surrendered their soul to the agenda of the Almighty.
We’ve learned so much of the martyrs this week: a woman who’s tongue was cut out just before she was bound in a bag of snakes and scorpions and hurled into the sea. Another who refused to give herself to the emperor, proclaiming her vows to God alone. She was beaten mauled by spikes, refusing to die. Ultimately the scorned emperor had her stripped naked and beheaded. Peter was crucified, upside down out of respect for his Savior. Surely none of these martyrs sought death. They sought a surrendered life. They died believing their spirit, in the hands of God, would yield far more than their own efforts could ever muster.
Full restoration begets utter surrender, and that’s the threshold for the supernatural to ignite.
This quote was engraved into the cornerstone of the church of St Peter’s Primacy. Another pastor on our pilgrimage pointed it out with damp eyes; “The deeds and miracles of Jesus are not actions of the past. Jesus is waiting for those who are prepared to take risks at His Word because they trust His power utterly.”
Lord, thank You for Your restorative power in our lives, that our worst moments are entirely redeemable upon our confession. Give us the courage to come clean, and perhaps even greater, the courage to surrender anew. May we be willing to stretch out our hands and be led where our flesh does not want to go. May our lives be remade for Your glory. Amen.