I love the disciples. They show me I am going to fail in faith.
Peter failed. Peter denied Jesus three times, even though he said he would not deny him. Jesus called him Satan for the way he was acting at one point. Peter thought he had to do something when all he needed to do was listen to Jesus. He seemed to get distracted also, say like, while walking on water. Peter had his share of mistakes.
But Peter wasn’t the only one. James and John argued about power. Thomas refused to believe without seeing and touching. Jesus often corrected the disciple’s lack of understanding, like when they complained about the woman anointing him with oil. The resurrected Jesus chastised all the disciples for not having faith. Peter isn’t alone in failure. The rest of the disciples join him.
I join Peter as well. I fail in faith. Like the Apostle Paul, there are things I want to do that I don’t, and there are things I don’t want to do that I do. Failure.
While the disciples teach us, they failed, they also teach us not to remain in failure. That is the difference between failing and remaining in failure. You are going to fail. You do not have to remain in failure.
Peter became the Father of the church. He preached the first post-Easter sermon. Peter led thousands to salvation through Christ. He healed people. He led major church decisions. Jesus chose him to go to the Gentiles. The guy who once practiced “open mouth-insert foot” became “open mouth-proclaim Christ.”
The other disciples did their fair share of gospel telling as well. Bartholomew was the most-traveled evangelist, preaching in five different countries. James the Lesser became the first Bishop of Jerusalem. John received the book of Revelations. Matthew preached in Ethiopia. These are just a few. The rest lived very similar lives of spreading the good news throughout the world.
None of the disciples remained in failure. They made their mistakes. Sometimes needed chastising. But they got up and kept going.
Don’t let failure in faith defeat you. Certainly, don’t remain in failure. Learn from the disciples. Get up and do great things for Christ. You can. If you stay in failure, you will lose in faith. You win at faith if you keep faithing.
