A short post this week because I’m traveling. This simple insight — new to me but probably glaringly obvious to everyone else — struck me when I was reading Matthew 16.
Peter calls Jesus the Christ in Matthew 16:16. It was a key turning point in his understanding of who this Jesus person really was.
In response, Jesus declares Peter the rock upon which the church will be built. That’s….heady stuff. Like really big important stuff.
And then in the very next section Peter screws it all up. He pulls Jesus aside and … well, go read it yourself. Point is that Peter went from “the rock upon which the church will be built” to Jesus saying to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block!”
That’s a fast transition and a very big fall, don’t you think?
There’s more of course. I’m not trying to delve into all the meanings in this passage.
But there’s a clear message here. It’s a warning.
Things change. Fast. Our position in the world, our standing before God, our very purpose, can go from being the block Jesus uses to build the church to simply a stumbling block along the way.
I guess we can become blockheads pretty fast.