A Closer Look: Stick Close to Jesus

Hello, hello! I'm back with a new blog post after an unplanned hiatus. I hope you will enjoy reading this one and that it encourages you in the ways of the Lord. <3

           In Luke 22:54-62, there’s a detail that always jumps out at me. In this passage, Jesus has been arrested and brought to the high priest’s house in the middle of the night. Earlier in the same chapter, Peter had said “‘Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). Jesus replied to Peter saying that he would deny that he even knows his Lord three times before the rooster crowed in the morning.

            Fast forward a few hours to Luke 22:54-62. Peter does in fact deny even knowing Jesus three times, and the rooster crows just as he is denying Him the third time. After this, the Bible tells us that “Peter went out and wept bitterly” (verse 62).

            The detail that is so important here in back in verse 54. “Having arrested Him, they led His and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance.”

            Pause.

            Zoom in.

            “But Peter followed at a distance.”

            This detail convicts me every time. It makes me wonder, “Am I following Jesus from a distance? Am I as close to Him as I should be?”

            I find these six words so crucial to the story because of what Peter says and does next. Imagine with me for a moment what Peter would have said and done if he were following Jesus closely. If he were right behind or beside His Rabbi. If Jesus was within earshot of every word Peter was saying. (Just a side note, Jesus could possibly have heard what Peter said judging by the look He gave to Peter when the rooster crowed. But because Jesus was already all-knowing, He didn’t have to audibly hear what Peter said to know what he said. I just thought I’d mention that.)

            The closer we follow Jesus, the more we yield to the Holy Spirit’s leading, the more we fashion our own character after God’s, and the more we love what He loves and despise what He despises, the easier it will be to resist temptation. As we cultivate our relationship with Christ and seek Him above all else, He draws us closer to Himself.

            As author Sara Barratt explains in one of my favourite books, Love Riot, “The more I focus on His love for me, the more I want to love Him. And the more I love Him, the more I seek Him and focus on His love... causing a beautiful, never-ending pattern of seeking and finding, pursuing and being pursued.”

            On the other hand, we see from Peter’s denial the results of following Jesus “from a distance.” Following Him half-heartedly and being lazy in our pursuit of Him. I cannot stress how important having a personal relationship with Christ is for a Christian. Following God isn’t merely following a list of rules; it’s following His heart. The more we do that, the closer to Him we will become.

            As James 4:7 says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” We often quote the second part of this verse, but the first part is just as important.

           

God’s grace is sufficient for every trial you walk through and every temptation you encounter. We don’t have to resist the enemy’s schemes by our own power. I believe the best tactic to resist the enemy with is simply drawing closer and closer to God and relentlessly pursuing Him.

            Let’s do it together.

            -Olivia

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