âFine Red Ink.â
Terry Brown taught us the Books of The Minor Prophets back in my Bible College days. He asked a paper of me on the Book of Nahum. Excitement immediately welled up inside of me. I studied extensively and typed on that old click-clack typewriter for hours. I put in effort that one couldnât believe and time beyond anyoneâs calculation. With massive pride I handed him my exegetical masterpiece. Well, thatâs the way I saw it, anyway! Nahum has never been the same for me since the day that my monumental work was returned to me in, what some might argue as being, an unchristian state. The markings upon it were excessive. Paragraphs and notes, in âfine red ink,â filled every possible space. Accusations of âspelling-typos,â âincomplete sentences,â âtoo few pages,â too few sources,â and other things I dare not mention, lest my fragile heart be re-broken upon unpleasant memories. Believe it, or not, except for the âfragile heartâ bit and a little poetic licence, the rest is true. I guess, my good Bible Master was out of patience and wasnât about to let me get by with less than ideal work.
Terryâs âriver of redâ was a stark warning that expectations of quality, as defined by an accepted master (him), are not up for redefinition by the student (me). That despite any previous grace, offered by him by way of encouragement for the fledgling Bible scholar, the day had come for ârealistic expectations.â Who could argue? Jesus said, âA disciple is not above his teacher,âŚIt is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacherâ (Matthew 10:24-25). Peter had failed the test of discipleship when he denied Jesus three times. He had assured Jesus that he would finish strongâeven unto death (Luke 22:33). On the day, his performance started bravely, by cutting off Malchusâ ear (John 18:10), but ended in bitter tears after those three denials of his Master (Matthew 26:75). The resurrected Christ had unfinished business with Peter. Peter had been sifted by Satan (Luke 23:31) and after failing, he needed to turn again (Luke 23:32); to be restored to his position as âKey-holderâ for the Kingdom.
In John 21 Jesus put Peter to the test on the shore of Galilee. Jesus met the shame of Petersâ three denials with three questions. âPeter, do you love me?â Peterâs reply was that of a man who had once declared his love for Jesus as being above and beyond his brothers. Now, this broken man could only muster enough dignity to say that Jesus knew that he had the love of a friend. Jesus asked the same question a second time and Peter answered in the same way. In Jesusâ third question he asked Peter if he even loved him like a friend? The dam was breached. Peter again wept, saying that Jesus knew he did. In between the questions were Jesus’ statements of purpose. Jesus told Peter to âFeed my sheep.â And this he did in the church until his dying day. But, for this to be achievedâfor Peter to be ready for Pentecost and beyondâJesus had to first restore Peter to his mission. Over the course of Peterâs discipleship training, Jesus had also filled every available space on his heart with âFine red ink.â After all, we are all called to ârealistic expectationsâ by our Master.
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