Peter's University

“I’m self taught and went to the same University as the Apostle Peter – the one where you deny Christ a number of times and get restored by His grace and unconditional love.”

I read the above quote this week, and will actually hear it in a sermon this coming Sunday. From the moment I read it, it struck a chord within me for two reasons. The first is that it was written by my daddy, and there is a certain humility in his writing that when I read it I feel honored that I can read and hear it. He speaks of himself being self taught. He left school at 16 (you can in England) and he never went to college or university, but he is one of the wisest men I know. He speaks from his life experiences, but more than that he has a love for knowledge. He is one of those individuals who knows things, and while it might be said that sometimes the things he knows are perhaps not entirely factual they are said with enough confidence that you believe anyhow. He, my dad, readily embraces the truth of God. It wasn’t always that way, he didn’t embrace God’s love and grace until later in life, but with that first embrace and touch of restoration he has continued to walk in the dust of Jesus. Like Peter in more ways than attending the same “university” my dad has committed to live his life poured out to see God’s kingdom here on earth, by preaching the gospel and teaching those that come across his path.

The second chord it strummed is that of a deep sense of bitter hope. Bitter because I often fail to recognize that I too am schooled at the same university of Peter. I’ve denied Christ a number of times, and yet Hope because He still lavishes His grace and unconditional love in my life.

The word restored brings to mind the verse in Jeremiah? where it speaks of the Lord restoring all that the locusts have eaten. Nearly a year has passed since I once voiced the peace that came with knowing that God was restoring all that was lost in my life through a series of events that caused pain and heartache. This time around as I reflect back I see that sometimes the most destructive “locusts” aren’t external but are in fact internal. We often cause more damage to ourselves than the events, circumstances, and people around us; and YET the promise of restoration is true nonetheless.

I feel treasured that somehow in the midst of life God reveals truth in what can be seemingly the smallest means.