Am I Peter?

A few days ago I was reading some of my old essays from last year. I found this and thought I would share. We were supposed to write about which person in the Bible we related to most.


I feel that I relate most to Peter. I’ve noticed that Peter was the impulsive one of the apostles. He jumped out of the boat and walked on water without second thought, he quickly attacked the soldiers who had come to arrest Jesus without even thinking. Throughout his life Peter does some pretty impulsive and stupid things. Sometimes I feel like what I’m doing is impulsive and not sure if I really should be doing it. At other times I know that I’ve done something stupid and don’t know how to fix it.
Sometimes I feel like I’m being impulsive and doing things that don’t make sense. To most the people in this world what I’m doing seems stupid. I’m studying youth ministry, and the world says that’s a stupid idea because I can’t make money from it. I feel that I’m following God’s calling, just like Peter responded to Jesus calling him. According to the world’s standards I am doing something stupid, just as Peter did when he stepped out of the boat and onto the water.
At some points Peter seems to be the only one who gets it. When Jesus asked who people thought he was it was Peter who said he was the Son of God. Going back to walking on water, only Peter believed that Christ would allow him to do so, all the other apostles were too afraid and stayed in the boat.
Like Peter, sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who understands. Growing up in church I understood some difficult concepts long before my peers. I don't necessarily say that I'm smarter, I just get it.
Another similarity between me and Peter is the desire to defend our savior, even if it would harm our cause. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter was quick to defend and cut off the soldier’s ear. Jesus stopped him and went with the guards anyway. Peter wanted to keep the soldiers from taking Jesus but Jesus knew this is something that needed to happen. So often I fight the urge to argue with unbelievers because they attack certain doctrines of my belief. Even though I know that this would only harm my cause and push them away from Christ rather than pull them in, I feel the urge to defend my beliefs just as Peter did.