A Curiosity Of Mine

Last week I shared one of my devotionals on Good Friday. (click here) In preparing the devotional, I couldn’t help but notice the life of Peter. Before he met Jesus, and was invited to join him on his 3 year trek around Israel, Simon, the son of John (Peter’s other name) was a fisherman (Matt 4:18). And after denying Jesus 3 times on the night he was betrayed, Peter went back to the life he had before he met Jesus – that of a fisherman. Not only do I wonder why that is, but I wonder if we do that today. If someone paid by the church to be involved in ministry, goes through a trial where they end up denying they knew Christ, as such they end up jobless, with no means of supporting themselves; what happens? Does such a person go back to the life they had before their invitation to ministry? If so, how often does this happen? If it does happen, can a person then say going back to your “old way of life” after denying their work with and/or for the Savior is a given?

I wondered also if I were to deny Jesus like Peter did what sort of life I would to return to. I had my encounter with Jesus at a point in my life where I was just out of school trying to figure out what to do next. Fortunately, with God’s help I went and graduated from Bible College. Does this mean then that if I wee to deny Christ, completely disown Him, vowing never to go back to being a Christian, would I end up job less and homeless (or something very similar?) Hmmmm….

tools of the trade

I’m reading through another book once recommended by a friend called This Beautiful Mess. In the opening pages, the Author tells he is a pastor. He says the primary tools are a bible, prayer, a crowd of people and a dinner platter filled with bread and wine. He then compares his process to that of gardening. The soul is his soil and he gets his hands dirty by sifting natural fertilizer (AKA manure) into the dirt. Pulling weeds and watering the crop is added to his profile of gardener for the Kingdom of God as his thinks about the best ways to yield a full harvest at the right time. I thought it was an interesting metaphor for the "job" as a pastor. (It definitely takes away from the age old theory that the church needs no volunteers because the pastor can do everything... but I digress); especially when Adam's primary role before the fall was that of a gardener. I’ve yet to be a pastor somewhere so I can’t speak to the truth behind the analogy... but I wonder if there is any truth in the comparison... what do you think?