Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
–John 1:42
Don’t you just love Simon? His human flaws are so much like yours and mine. He could be impetuous and irresponsible just as surely as he could be personally engaging. But something happened in his life that changed him forever.
In today’s verse, when the Scripture says that “Jesus looked at him,” it means that he looked right into his heart. Jesus saw something others could not see! He saw “a rock,” and he even gave him a name that means just that.
Now when Simon Peter’s friends heard that Jesus called him “the rock,” they must have laughed! At this point, Peter was not a portrait of reliability. He was up, then down; over-promising and under-delivering.
But Jesus knew exactly who Simon Peter was. He knew the good and the bad, his strengths and his flaws. But more importantly, Jesus saw beyond what others saw to see his potential and promise. And Jesus knew that if he could capture Simon’s heart, Simon would be changed… and that he would change the world!
Don’t you hunger for someone to see all your potential… to see who you were born to be? Well, Jesus does!
If you will follow him, Jesus will release your potential and use you to change your world! Let him reveal all you can be in him.
IF YOU WILL FOLLOW HIM, JESUS
WILL USE YOU TO CHANGE YOUR WORLD!
