Every single person in the Bible is put there to serve you.

This procession of people, with their strengths and weaknesses, their faults, failings, flaws, talents, and abilities, their virtues and their vices, are your servants. Hidden between the lines of these ancient texts, they wait, wanting to teach you the great truths of the journey.

They provide an invaluable service by acting as mirrors. These men and women afford you the opportunity to look deep into your divided heart and see yourself, the good and the bad, that which is worthy and that which is in need of redemption. Until you have learned to see yourself in every person in the Scriptures, you have not read the Bible.

Most people draw near to God only to abandon his ways; then from the anguish of the brokenness and emptiness of their sin, they once again draw near to God and return to his ways.

There is perhaps no better example than Saint Peter. 

Peter left everything behind to follow Jesus, but his journey to becoming the first Pope involved plenty of stumbling. Here’s just a few examples:

Peter walks on water, but then looks away from Jesus and sinks. (Matthew 14:28-31) He rejects the very idea that Jesus has to die, and Jesus delivers his famous rebuke “Get behind me, Satan!” (Matthew 16:22-23) He tries to stop Jesus from washing his feet, but once he is corrected, asks Jesus to wash his hands and head as well. (John 13:6-10) And then, when Jesus is put on trial, Peter denies he even knows him. (Luke 22:54-62)

But after Jesus' Resurrection, Peter becomes the unifying voice for the early Church. He works miracles in Jesus’ name. And he ultimately dies for Jesus, executed on the spot we now know as Saint Peter’s Basilica.

Can you relate to Peter? Have you ever ignored what you knew in good conscience was the right thing to do because you were afraid of what people might think of you? 

If you can relate to Peter in his mistakes, then you can also have firm hope that God will make you into the-best-version-of-yourself.

All you have to do is let God in so he can do his work. 

A great place to start? Dive into the Bible like you never have before.



Patron Saint of: Popes, Catholics, Fishermen, Net Makers, and Ship Builders

Also Known As: The First Pope

Symbols: Keys of Heaven, Cross of Saint Peter

Feast Day: June 29