… have received a faith as precious as ours.
Summary: There are simple economic principles that determine what we consider precious in a worldly sense. In the spiritual realm the same principles apply … to a point.
What makes Peter’s faith precious?
In the world of gemstones, diamonds are more precious than moonstones. Why? A moonstone is a kind of milky blue-white rock that, when polished, glows with a strange unearthly light. That sounds pretty cool, right? If you had a two-carat diamond and somebody offered to trade you a three-carat moonstone, that would be a good deal, wouldn’t it?
Even if, like me, you know next to nothing about precious stones, you probably know that diamonds are more valuable than moonstones. The reason for the difference in value depends on your knowledge of the stones themselves. For most of us, we know the value others put on diamonds, even if we do not know the reason they are more valuable ourselves.
Faith is like that diamond. If we do not know what makes Peter’s faith precious, we at least know that he was willing to die for it. From that fact alone, we can know that he valued it highly. If we want to know for ourselves why such a faith is valuable, then we have to do a bit of research.
In the world of gemstones, value is based on what people want. More people prefer a diamond rather than a moonstone. Ergo, the diamond is more desired and more precious.
In the inner world of our hearts, being right with God is what most people want. Many do not know what they want, and some who reject God entirely. Yet there are many more who, like me, recognize that there is a longing deep inside to go home. Like the Prodigal in Jesus’ parable (Luke 15: 11-32), we have realized that going off on our own was not such a good idea after all.
Another aspect of the value of gemstones has to do with supply and demand. The more common something is, the less people value it. The more rare something is, the more people seem to want it.
Oddly, Peter’s faith is a little of both. There is only one path we can take to get home to God. That path runs through Jesus Christ. In Jesus, we find both the rarity of having only one source for what we want and the generosity of having an unlimited supply of forgiveness waiting for us if we turn to him.
We could continue, but I am pushing my knowledge of precious stones to its limit. Besides, I think the point is made. No one can decide for you what you value. If you do not value the feeling of being home with God, there is nothing I can do to make you want that. When the Prodigal left home, he was not thinking of going home, he just wanted to get away. It was only after he ran face-first into the hard realities of life that he started longing for home.
Maybe you are not there yet? Perhaps you are wondering if there is something better? Possibly, you are hurting so badly that all you can see is your own hurt. If so, my prayer for you is that you can glimpse the Light of Hope. Once you see that there is hope, the door is open to knowing Jesus. Once you know Jesus, home is just a heartbeat away.
Application: Make certain that you understand why Peter’s faith is precious to him.
Food for Thought: If you wanted to know more about why Peter considers his faith precious, where would you look?
My obvious answer to the question would be “The Bible, ” but I would dig deeper into a study bible. I have been watching The Chosen and while I know it is a secular program, it has for me, brought the disciples to life and caused me to want to learn more about them and their faith in Jesus. I would look at Peter’s story and how he faltered and came to become one of those in Jesus’ inner circle.
Peter walked on water, but he also began to sank at first when he took his eyes off Jesus. Often times, and I can relate, when I take my eyes off of Him, I tend to sink. Fear can sink you where faith will sustain you. Over time, Peter came along to trust in Him and follow Him knowing Jesus would meet the needs and lead the way. All Peter had to do was trust in Him and have faith in Him. Having faith is often difficult, especially early on in one’s relationship with Jesus. We want to have faith, but we also want to tell him how it’s going to go and give Him the instructions to get from point A to point B. He doesn’t need anything from us other than faith — and to get out of the way.
Darla,
Thank you for stating the “obvious” and the not-so-obvious! Your description of how we want to give Jesus instructions is spot on! Faith is trusting that he already knows what we need better than we ourselves know. The value of our faith is found in how faithful our Lord is to take care of our needs as well as the price he paid to meet those needs.
Not to copy Darla, but most of what I know of Peter is from the Bible. I like reading about Peter because I believe he was a very genuine and passionate person, but that also caused him to falter in his walk. His best attribute was also his worst, and I can certainly relate to that. We can read about his time walking (literally) with Jesus, and the unfolding of events at the time of Jesus’s crucifixion. I think that he articulated why he considered his faith precious in 2 Peter 3-8:
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I think Peter truly recognized his sinful nature, and how we as humans can go from walking with the Lord, to selfish, self-serving sinfulness in the blink of an eye. I think it is one thing to say to yourself “I am a sinner.” I think it is another to truly look at your life and recognize each sin. Something that (even at almost 50) I have only recently truly begun to do.
Chris,
Interesting thoughts! If I understand rightly, the path to discovering more about how precious our faith is lies along the same path as understanding how much we have been forgiven.
Thank you Jeff, you summarized it better than I think I was able to say it! 🙂
08-31-2021, 2 Peter 1:1e, : If you wanted to know more about why Peter considers his faith precious, where would you look?
Study and apply, the Bible!
2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
1 Peter 1:3, “We need not fear, for God has given us all things that are necessary for our salvation; grace and peace will be multiplied unto us, if only we seek the knowledge of God”
What God guides and equips one to do ( as with Gifts ) may not be what He will guide and equip another to do. It is part of the personal ministry of the Holy Spirit to show the individual what the will of God is for them. The guidance of the Spirit can be personal as required to achieve God’s unique purpose for the individuals life while the general law applies to all and being led by the Spirit is consistently one of the marks of being a Christian.
Romans 12:1-2, 8:14, Galatians 5:18
Thanks Ron!
I like how you combine reading God’s Word and the leading of God’s Spirit! Great combination! 🙂
I am going to say,..look to the cross,..I don’t even think Peter made it to the cross that day,..he spent the day sulking that he denied Jesus,..faith is the evidence of things unseen,..I like Peter didn’t see Christ get crucified on the cross for my sin,..but I need to have faith that He did,..just like Peter had faith that Christ died on the cross,..what strengthened Peter’s faith I believe is when He and the others seen Jesus after rising from the tomb,..evidence of things unseen,..
And I believe we need to have that kind of faith today,..knowing what these guys heard Jesus tell them to be true,..He is coming again someday,..the only evidence of things unseen we have today is the Bible,.. the more I read the Bible the more I believe these things to be true and it seems like the clearer my faith becomes,..because not only have I read the evidence but I believe the evidence written to be true,..
Anyway that’s my take on why Peter’s faith is so precious to him,..
John,
Thank you! I appreciate you pointing us to the cross. Also to the fact that Peter was not even there when Jesus was crucified. He knew, though. He knew he had let Jesus down when that rooster crowed. It wasn’t until he had breakfast on the beach with the risen Lord that he began to understand…
Thanks also, John, for your testimony of faith. That is an encouragement!