Thought For Today: “Getting Burned”

Peter had a discernment problem.

“Now when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat together, Peter sat among them.” (Luke 22:55)

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. Peter showed a real lack of discernment and ended up smack dab in the enemy’s camp. He went into the high priest’s courtyard, the very person who had Jesus arrested.

Peter wants to maintain some contact, but not close enough to do any good.

Many who want to be Christians don’t want to identify themselves with Christ in their everyday lives. They want some contact, so they come to church occasionally, but they keep living on their own terms.

But while Peter warms himself at their fire, he gets burned. We can’t sit with the enemy and warm ourselves without burning our consciences in the process. When we follow Jesus from a distance, we’ll begin to lose contact and closeness with Him, and soon we’ll find ourselves not only in the enemy’s camp but also with our tent set up there.