They Almost Missed It!

Scripture: Luke 9:28-36

28 About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them. 35 Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” 36 When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen. (Luke 9:28-36 NLT)

Thank God these guys were as human as I am! A “once in all of history event” and Peter, James, and John almost missed it because they were drowsy and fell asleep. Another time they fell asleep in Gethsemane when Jesus asked them to pray with him. They argued over which of them would be the greatest. Once they wanted to have God burn up a Samaritan village that rejected their message.

The encouraging thing is this: They grew in faith, they matured in character, and they fulfilled the purpose for which Jesus had called them. All three gave their lives to fulfill God’s purpose and introduce the Kingdom of God on earth.

Sometimes life is a battle to overcome the failings of my humanity so I can be who God wants me to be and do what he has called me to do. At the same time it’s important to remember that Jesus called imperfect people to represent the Kingdom of God and they remained imperfect until the day they died, but he used them anyway.

The reminders to me today: 1) God wants to involve me in his plan, so stay awake and don’t miss the moment(s)! Also 2) Don’t get discouraged and give up because I’m not yet what I ought to be. Peter, James, and John turned out all right!

Prayer:

Father, Thanks for including me in your plan. It’s what I really want most in life – to be who you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thanks for being so patient with me and having faith in what you can do in me and with me and through me.