Peter said to Him, Even if I must die with You, I will by no means deny You. And all the disciples said likewise.
— Matthew 26:35
And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
— Matthew 26:75
When the Lord asked His disciples if they were able to be baptized with the baptism He was baptized with, they claimed they were able (Matt. 20:22; cf. 26:35). How many were actually able to follow Him all the way to the cross? Not one! Whatever degree we are able to follow the Lord is due to His mercy. Everyone who loves the Lord and experiences His blessing will eventually also experience dryness and limitation. Those in this situation realize that the only reason they can still love the Lord is because of His grace. Such Christians begin to experience something real in their relationship with the Lord; they no longer live in dreams.
We should not be so quick to judge others as being good or bad. All who follow the Lord will experience many things on their lifelong journey. Their success or failure will not be determined until their last breath. Everything beforehand is a part of the process. Whether at a certain moment we are prevailing, or whether at a certain moment we are weak, for sure, we will pass from the joyful initial stage to the stage of dissatisfaction and seeming failure. The Lord allows us to experience each of these stages so that we may really know Him.
Adapted from Ruth: Growth Unto Maturity, page 16.
Tomorrow: “What Is Purity?”