The Power of Weakness: New Testament

NEW TESTAMENT

Peter

     Peter is one of my absolute favorites! He was such a strong and capable man, physically fit with a powerful desire to do what’s right. He was the head disciple and leads the newly-founded church after

Christ’s death, resurrection, and subsequent return to heaven. And in more recent times he joined James and John as resurrected beings assigned to confer the authority of the Priesthood on Joseph Smith. This good man believed in the identity of Christ as the Son of God, and trusted that he could follow His footsteps anywhere, even across water. Peter spent his entire life in the service of Christ, traversing his world as a missionary and would later suffer a brutal death in the name of Christ. However, his service and leadership are not the only things highlighted about Peter. The stories of his failings are just as well-known as anything else.

      Peter fought over who should be the first and greatest of the disciples in heaven, he wasn’t able to heal the boy whose parents had reached utter desperation, he was chastised on several occasions for lack of faith, he was rebuked in front of the rest of the disciples, he didn’t immediately grasp the significance of Christ washing his feet, he slept through the Atonement, cut off a man’s ear, and denied His Savior three times. And yet, he was the head apostle. After all that happened, Christ still depended on him, trusted him to help lead His church. What a profound lesson. 

     We cannot rely on our interpretation of things, or expect that our knowledge will arm us with the ability to do what needs to be done, to call down miracles, or see life through the long, lonely night. Peter thought he understood, thought he knew enough, thought his love for Christ and his belief in His mission was enough. But it wasn’t. It was only when he was prepared for the knowledge, only after he gave up his version of the story that he was endowed with power and true conversion, which can only come through a witness of the spirit. All the of the pointed, yet kind chastisement of the Master, all of his failings and insecurities led to the moment when the spirit could touch his heart and sear the truth into the fibers of his soul. We need this too. The moral is that we should not get so down on ourselves if we sleep through a meeting, because Peter slept through the Atonement!  In actuality, Peter’s life teaches us that our short-comings do not stall our progression, in fact, they prepare us for the times in our lives when the spirit hits our souls with all of the force of a still small voice and sanctifies us. Sister Ludwig, my mission president’s wife shared a quote: “Write your future plans in pencil...so God can erase them and write them in pen”. What this says to me is that we need to learn all we can, but be willing to step aside and accept truth as God gives it. And we can take the time to grow. God’s plan is perfect, and His timing is utterly dependable. Peter needed time and blundering to become the fierce defender of the faith, and so do we. So stop tearing yourself down. Follow Peter’s example and listen, learn, lean on Christ, and live.

Paul

     Paul’s life is like that perfect conversion story. Villain turned hero, persecutor turned apostle. His work as a missionary is the stuff of legends, and his lecture on faith powerful and moving. His preaching takes up most of the latter part of the New Testament, and chronicles his miracle-strewn ministry across Damascus, Jerusalem, Asia, Macedonia, Crete, and perhaps Spain.

     Other than his more violent past, and being rather ugly, there are only two big instances that make any mention of weakness. The first is that he got into a spat with Peter over the some finer points of conduct, in which he felt like Peter had acted inappropriately and not shown respect to some of the  converts. He later acknowledges that Peter’s work was primarily with a specific portion of the converts. There is an insight here into how the Lord calls each of us to different roles, different places where we can make the most difference, even if that means some of the finer points differ. But the point I really want to focus on comes a little bit later. Paul tell of an experience of a vision and then slips in this little statement. I have heard a few speculations on what this thorn in the flesh could be, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. 

     As followers of Christ, we try so hard to do what’s right, to believe in His promise of eventual perfection. We cultivate an understanding of His teachings, we nurture a desire to turn away from sin, and we tremble on our knees under the burden of our own guilt, all in the hopes that we can one day say that we’ve made it, that we are free from the shackles of sin and have no more desire to do evil, that we’ve really overcome our failings. And then here’s Paul, who seems to put that all into question. Why would a man who has done so much for the kingdom have to suffer with his thorn all of his life? He clarifies in the following passage. 

      What he’s saying is that our weaknesses keep us aware of how much we need Christ. Having our weaknesses our entire lives is not a representation of our lack of desire, it simply means that our    

weaknesses continue to be relevant. It would be like taking baking powder out of a cupcake recipe, just because you were tired of getting it out of the pantry. In order to rise, we need to see how far down the fall could be. Otherwise, we would be satisfied with flat and blabby cake, and that’s just not fair. Remember that weaknesses don’t define us unless we insist on taking credit for them. They serve a function, a purpose, but they are not meant to be used in our identity, unless that identity brings us to Christ.