John 13:36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” 37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! (NIV)
Do you remember the day you gave your life to the Lord? For me, it was March 7, 1990. I remember on that day I wanted to tell others about Christ, I also wanted to stop doing all the bad things I was doing everyday. That zeal to do better only lasted a few days before I was back to saying the same bad words, looking at the same bad stuff and thinking about how I was going to hide to commit sin. A few years later I was taught about these Bible verses in John 13. Peter had the same intensions to give everything up. He wanted to give up his life and he was willing to lay down his life just like Christ would. Peter was not strong enough…yet. Later on he did, after preaching and encouraging the church and helping many to come to salvation he was crucified upside down.
We need to see that we are all part of a growth process. We may be willing to do something for the Lord, but we may not be mature enough or strong just yet. However, try to live your life everyday as if you are making the same commitment to die to self and serve the Lord. After some time of doing that everyday, we will have the courage to leave this world of sin behind, and serve the Lord with all our hearts, mind, soul and strength.