Following At A Distance

When you look at the life of the Apostle Peter, you see a massive roller coaster ride. During his time with Jesus he was up and down so many times it makes our heads spin.

In one instance he’s walking on water; the next he’s sinking beneath the waves. At one point he boldly confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and the next he tries to rebuke Jesus. Peter boldly states he’ll even die for Jesus, and a short while later we see him following at a distance, staying out of sight and even denying Him.

As the Roman soldiers approached Jesus to arrest Him, Peter courageously pulls out a sword and cuts off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants, but then ran for his life.

The Bible says, “Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance.” (Luke 22:54)

It’s not that Peter didn’t want to be close to Jesus, he just didn’t want to be close enough to be connected.

How many want to be a Christian, but they don’t want to identify themselves as being one in their everyday lives. They want to have some contact, so they come to church occasionally so they can continue living life on their own terms, having their “ get out of hell” insurance paid up.

Notice where Peter ended up once he began to follow at a distance: into the camp of the enemy. Basically, by following at a distance he heads into evil company.

Once we start following at a distance we’ll start heading back to our old haunts and our old ways. And once that happens, it begins to corrupt our walk in the Lord.

The Apostle Paul said, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)

What can we do when this begins to happen: Come to our senses, ask forgiveness, and repent.