Peter's First Christmas

Good morning! This morning let us wonder for a bit about the man who would one day lead the fledgling church. Where did Peter celebrate the birth of Christ? Did he even know about it? Until Christ chose Peter from off the boat, we know nothing about our future leader. Which might explain why we know much more about the life of our head, Jesus. Peter would become a leader on Earth, but Jesus is our ultimate leader. On the night that Jesus lay in a manger looking around at the funny faces of a bunch of raggedy shepherds, Peter may very well have been fixing a hole in his boat. We don't know how old Peter was when chosen by the Son of God. I think we can assume that Peter probably had a better idea of the exact day, week or season of our Lord's birth. Did Peter invent the Christmas holiday? Maybe.

This is speculation of course, and a little wondering is fun to indulge in once in a while. We miss our Lord Jesus in His body talking with us human to human. So we celebrate Christmas, Easter, and every day with His Spirit. We long to run to our Lord, to kneel before Him, hug His body and be hugged by Him. We long to see him as we see our very best friend and ask Him a host of questions. Peter may have felt all this and more. How many tests did Peter face in life where he longed for Jesus to be beside him in the flesh once more? We have but a hint of that I think, but we have the same hope as Peter. Jesus promised all of us to return, and that Christmas is one all can anticipate with great joy.

We don't know if Peter even thought of such a thing as celebrating the birth of Christ. Then again, he may have thought about it every day. Peter's first Christmas was celebrated on a boat on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus said, "Follow Me!" Peter may not have realized it at the time. Our best Christmas was the day we heard Jesus say deep in the heart, "Come to Me!" and we obeyed. Like Peter, we may not have realized it at the time.

Have a great Christmas!
Bucky