There once was a man whose life was a daily grind. Every day, it was the same routine: Get up, go to work, come home, eat, visit family, go to bed. Next morning: Get up, go to work, come back, eat, visit family, go to bed. On his way to work one morning, he thought to himself:
“This job stinks! It’s the same thing, day in, day out. By noon I’m knee-deep in muck. Sometimes I put out the bait for more work, but I never get a nibble. Sometimes I feel like I’m in over my head, and the water’s coming in faster than I can bail it out. Sometimes I just feel like I’m sinking. This job stinks!”
Ever feel like that? You’re tired of your job. The daily grind grinds you down. The routine is boring. Maybe you feel like this guy. Shouldn’t there be more to life?
This man’s job was similar in many ways to jobs we might have, but it was also slightly different. His job literally stunk. This man was a fisherman, and his job stunk. The fish stunk; his hands stunk; his clothes reeked. Many times he was knee-deep in mud. There were times when he was bailing water as fast as it was coming in. Sometimes, he sat all day and didn’t bring a thing home to eat. Like you and me, he probably got tired of the daily grind, wondering if there was “more” to life than fishing for a living.
And then he came face to face with GLORY, and nothing was ever the same. This man’s work went from fishing for a living to fishing for people. His life went from daily grind to divine glory. His purpose went from making a living to living for his Maker.
What brought about this change? He had a very close encounter of the Divine Kind. He came face to face with the God of the Universe, and that God turned out to be none other than his best friend! The man I’m talking about is Simon Peter, and his best friend is Jesus of Nazareth, risen from the dead.
BORN AGAIN INTO A LIVING HOPE
History tells us that this one Simon from Galilee went from an illiterate fisherman to the leader of the most significant cultural revolution ever. His life went from grind to glory when the God of the universe broke into his life and stole his heart, his work, his purpose. Peter, in writing his New Testament letter of 1 Peter, describes his transformation as a seed that takes root and grows supernaturally beyond your wildest dreams, a second chance, a “new birth.” Peter now had hope, the greatest of all hopes, the hope of continuous and ever-increasing glory and purpose, a life with ever-increasing love. He would describe this hope as a “living hope” that gets more certain the longer you live. Most people start losing hope as they get older; Peter’s hope grew more robust and confident as he aged.
For Peter, “new birth” wasn’t religious jargon. He had been religious for years. What he was talking about was an intimate encounter with the living God, allowing God to have control of all of life’s ambitions and desires. Peter had come face to face with this hope in the face of his friend Jesus, whom he had seen brutally crucified. But then Peter saw this same Jesus face to face 3 days later, alive, but with a new and different body. It was a body for sure, but a transformed one, even glorious. Over the next 40 days, Jesus made it clear to Peter and his other followers that this glorious body is God’s intention for all humanity, and that Jesus is the guarantee and “first fruit,” or prototype, of what is sure to come, not only for Peter and his generation, but for all subsequent generations.
But after 40 days, Jesus departed into the heavens. But he wasn’t gone. What he began to do during those 40 days was just the beginning. And that was also when Peter’s life really began. Jesus was just then beginning to transform this present world. Peter understood from Jesus that the ways of this world, the selfishness, greed, hate, isolation, and loneliness, were all passing away. Real life was breaking in from the future and even transforming the past with forgiveness and reconciliation. This is the “living hope” that instills in us the desire to partner with God Himself to actively work for what we hope. It is that partnership with God in this world that fills us with an “inexpressible joy.” We are even now, during this life, beginning to receive the “salvation of our souls” which will be consummated when God renews all of creation.
THE WRITINGS OF A RASCAL
It is ironic that Jesus used Peter to speak this good news to us. When Jesus first laid eyes on Peter, he was no saint. He was boisterous, brash, crude, and cocky. He was impatient, impetuous, immature, and immoral. He was a windbag and wishy-washy. He was just the kind of guy God chooses! And he was just the kind of guy God changes. Peter was, in his own words, a “sinful man,” and I can relate to that. If there is hope for proud Peter, there is hope for you and me. Jesus took him right where he was and slowly, patiently, and lovingly changed him.
When Jesus found Peter, his name was “Simon,” which was a common Jewish name. Jesus gave him a new identity and began calling him by a new name, Peter, which means “Rock.” Jesus loved him not only for who he was but for who Jesus was going to transform him into being. Jesus never stopped loving him even though Peter would fail him time and again.
I can identify with him, as maybe you can, too. What I like about Peter is that he is proof that God will not abandon a sinner who fails time and again, but will make sure His glorious purposes win out. The hope Peter had was that the One who had been faithful to him in his life on earth would continue to be faithful after death. The One who helped Peter make sense of his life on this earth could be trusted in the midst of suffering and death. The hope Peter writes about is not foolish optimism or wishful thinking, but is grounded firmly on the faithful love of Creator God, who is living and active in our lives. As scientist and theologian John Polkinghorne writes, if human beings are creatures loved by their Creator, “they must have a destiny beyond death. The only ground for such a hope lies in the steadfast love and faithfulness of God that is testified to by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”[1] As Peter’s friend the apostle Paul wrote, we have received “the truth that leads to godliness, a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2).
That is good news!
THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
Peter wrote two letters that are recorded in the New Testament, and his first letter speaks words of hope to our restless, hectic, fragmented age. In our times, the speed of life and the deluge of information and entertainment distract us for a while, but there is “a nagging sadness of the heart, as we sense that the whirlpool of pleasures does not bring satisfaction and that, before long, it may suffocate us. All is a struggle for material things, but an inner voice tells us that we have lost something pure, elevated and fragile. We have ceased to have purpose.”[2]
Peter assures us that the new life God breathes into us does satisfy and can begin to purify us. It simplifies and makes sense of our lives; it makes us whole and fills us with love, purpose and hope. This new life calls us to live in community with others, learning how to “love deeply” and understanding the deep joys of forgiveness and faith. This is a community designed by God, where young and old and people of all races, nationalities, and socio-economic backgrounds live and love together and learn from each other. A place where we come to know the faithful love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
1 Peter speaks to our age because it addresses the three most essential questions in life:
- What is life for?
- What do we do with suffering?
- How do we live?
In the coming weeks, we will explore these three questions by looking at Peter’s answers. You might get a sneak preview by reading 1 Peter (all in one sitting if possible). His answers are further explored in my book, From Fish to Glory: 1 Peter for Daily Living, available on Amazon and at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/from-fish-to-glory.
[1] John Polkinghorne, The God of Hope and the End of the World (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002), 149.
[2] Alexander Solzhenitsyn, “We Have Ceased to See the Purpose,” in The Solzhenitsyn Reader: New and Essential Writings 1947-2005, ed. Edward E. Ericson, Jr. and Daniel J. Mahoney (Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2006), 595.