Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. John 13: 36 – 38; ESV

Those who know me know that I am big into superheroes and their stories. I sometimes dream of having some of the powers they possess and how I would use them for the good of mankind. But then I am reminded of the hero’s weaknesses despite their totally awesome powers. Superman gathers his powers from our “yellow” sun but is helpless only to kryptonite. Green Lantern gets his powers from a ring and should he lose that, he’s done. The Flash has great speed and such, however, in zero gravity, he’s slower than most common men. I think you are getting the point.

That being said, there are many Christians who believe themselves to be “Super-Christians”; God’s mighty and infallible soldiers. They have what I like to call a “Peter-mind”. A Peter-mind is a mind that fools itself to believe that, like Peter, we will never stray away from Jesus’ teachings and remain at His feet. However, as the Scriptures show us, Peter fell away from the faithfulness he thought he possessed; even when Jesus told him he would deny knowing he ever knew Jesus. How many of us have fallen to our weaknesses? Peter’s weakness was fear and being afraid of what they might do to him if he confessed that he was connected to Christ. I wonder how many people suffer from the same thing? Hummmmm…

Like the superheroes, Christians have weaknesses. And on top of this, like the superheroes, Christians have arch-rivals. The villains of the superheroes often KNOW their enemy’s weak points and vulnerabilities. And they often try to capitalize on those shortcomings. As Christians, Satan knows what it will take to pull us away from God’s power. He KNOWS our kryptonite and he isn’t afraid to use it against us. He will wait for the right time, the right place and release his diabolical plans to destroy our walk with Christ. It might be lust, anger, hatred, envy, pride, judgment, fame, seduction, addictions, and sexual pleasures (including pornography) and so on. And when Satan strikes, he wants as many witnesses to view the downfall: those who are believers so he can strike fear into them as well as manipulate them to judge and help keep the fallen down and for the non-believers to witness so they can mock the fallen Christian.

Peter, as we see later on in the Scriptures, gathered himself and, with Jesus’ help, was able to overcome they schemes of Satan; even though it cost him his life. You see, even superheroes don’t live forever; only their legacies. And, in most cases, they die serving those who they try to save.

It is not a sin to want to be a spiritual superhero. In fact, I hope all believers strive for this. (Note: being a spiritual superhero means wanting to help save spiritual lives through the power of Jesus Christ.) Just as Superman draws his powers from our yellow sun, we, as

Christians, draw our power from God’s Son. Apart from Him, WE ARE POWERLESS! If we can realize this, we will not face the same failure Peter did.

One way to avoid this is to know your weaknesses. This will prove to be a milestone in our walk with Christ; for knowing this will help us to avoid putting ourselves in situations where those weaknesses will overtake us. Some superheroes have “side-kicks”; those who assist them in fighting crime. Believers today would benefit from having someone by their sides to assist them to be strong in the faith. I personally have select people in my life who I am in constant communion because I know that I am weaker if I do my ministries on my own. They have my back and I have theirs. We hold each other accountable. Each of us is iron which sharpens one another. We stand in battle as one brotherhood/sisterhood fighting against one foe: Satan. Our King and Strength is Jesus and it is from Him that we draw our power from. We know our weaknesses and protect one another from them; we don’t pretend that we stronger than we are. Admitting our weaknesses allows others to protect us from having a Peter-mind and to have a Christ-like heart.

If Peter would have only listened to Jesus when He told him of his coming failure and took to heart the Achilles’ heel he possessed, maybe he could have avoided the bitter heartbreak he faced as he looked into Jesus’ eyes after the cock crowed. Some of us, myself included, can identify with Peter. I know the look that Jesus gave Peter because I too have in the past denied knowing Jesus in thought and in actions. And, like Peter, Jesus restored me into serving Him. And, like Peter, I am willing to die for my faith in Jesus. It’s not that I want to be a superhero; I just want to be a faithful one.

Father God,

Please be my power and might. Empower me to serve You in drawing others closer to You through Your Son, Jesus. It is in His Name I pray, Amen.