1 Peter 5:1

Just half a verse tells us grace has brought Peter a long way.

It’s a favorite pastime of preachers to pick on Peter. His younger days provide a treasure trove of material for pointing out the fallen human condition. But in our honest moments, we’re reminded it takes one to know one. We’re all experts in that which we ourselves struggle against.

The chief characteristic of Peter’s younger days could be summed up as setting grace aside.

After all, it feels better to be in control, to take things into our own hands. We humans are deceived by the illusion that we make the progress in the world we live in. But decades down the road, a more mature Peter points out that it’s the grace of God that does the heavy lifting.

How might we embrace that grace?

Peter offers two verbs for us, and I’m reminded of one practice. The two verbs are 1) witness, and 2) share. We witness Christ’s sufferings, and share in the glory to be revealed.

The one practice that engages those two verbs? Communion.

To participate in communion is to engage grace, where we both witness Christ’s sufferings and share in unfolding glory.