What is a Knucklehead? Broken People Used by God

One of the most interesting figures in the Bible is Peter, the Apostle.  Peter is interesting because he seems so much like all of us--incredibly human--that is, terribly inconsistent.  In the Gospels, we read about how he drops his fishing business in an instant to follow Christ. We’re not sure if we should admire his obedience to Jesus’ call or question his rash decision making.  After all who makes his life and career decisions so quickly?

Later, we read about the time when Peter saw Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee and asked to join him on the water despite the pounding wind and rain.  We think how wonderful it must have be to have faith like that and yet it is hard not to question the foolishness of a guy who would get out of a boat in a storm.  Just who does this guy think that he is?

When Christ is arrested, we read about Peter taking a sword and chopping off the ear of a slave of the high priest.  Again, do we admire the loyalty to Jesus and question how Peter seems to act first and ask questions later? In so many ways, Peter is a hard guy to figure out.

And perhaps most famously, we come to find out that despite Peter’s love of the Lord, he denies even knowing Jesus when the chips are down.  When it’s clear that Jesus is going to be killed as a criminal, his best friend simply says, “Never heard of the man.” So much for loyalty and friendship.

Despite the mixed feelings we often have for Peter, one thing is clear in the Gospels: Jesus loved Peter deeply and completely.  Christ even told Peter that upon his shoulders the entire church would be built. I have to imagine Jesus told Peter this even though he already knew Peter would later deny him at crunch time.

The biggest takeaway that when reading about Peter is that he seems like a bit of a knucklehead.  But God used him to start the Christian faith anyway. There were only a handful of Christians when Jesus died.  Today, there are more than 2 billion Christians on earth. Peter--part rock, part knucklehead--was instrumental in turning Christianity from a small group to a major force in the world.

For those of us who profess to be Christians, I believe the key lesson of Peter’s life is clear: God uses broken people to get his work done.  Peter shows us that you don’t have to be perfect to carry out God’s plan of salvation. If so, Peter never would have been the object of Jesus’ deep love nor given him so much responsibility.  Perhaps it was Peter’s role as a lovable knucklehead that caused Jesus to love him so much. Human flaws can be endearing, especially when they are found in good-hearted people.

One of the greatest traits of our God is that he uses flawed people to advance his purposes.  He uses our brokenness to make things whole. He knows our weaknesses but uses our strengths to keep the ball moving forward. If you don’t believe it, just read about Peter.

If you don't believe it, dare to join us as we seek Jesus together. Join us as we don't just attend church, but we ARE the church seeking to be the hands and feet of Jesus to our communities.

God is assembling a team and a church of insignificant people, that He wins with.  In this equation, there is no doubt who is responsible for the victory.  If God can use a Knucklehead like Peter to win fame for His name, He can certainly use us ordinary, broken people.

This weekend we gather for our first annual Knucklehead retreat.  Knuckleheads is our term of endearment for our staff who love and serve our teams who come during Spring Break, the Summer and Fall Break.  We will have two days of training in preparation for the teams coming in.

You also qualify to be a Knucklehead if you have served with us over the years through your youth group or college group.

If you are interested in serving with us, please email Danielle at daniellew@mobilemissionsnetwork.com.
 
We also have a group of Knuckleheads that gather on Sunday mornings at Eagle Point Christian Academy at 10 a.m.: 602 S. Mounds, Sapulpa.

We are His Knuckleheads!

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