The Apostle Peter, whose personal name was Simon, was a fisherman by trade and one of the two original disciples Jesus called to follow Him (John 1:35-42). Tradition holds that later in life, when he was arrested and persecuted under Emperor Nero, Peter pleaded not to be crucified the same way as Jesus, saying he was unworthy—so he was crucified upside down.

Think about that for a moment. The person whom Jesus considered closest to Him, who knew Jesus better than any of the other apostles, who filled the role as leader of the apostles, felt unworthy to be, even in his death, paralleled in the likeness of Jesus. Peter held Jesus in such reverence that he could not bear the thought of people seeing his last moments on earth in the same semblance as that of his Lord.

Even so, Peter was far from perfect and he clearly knew it. As their leader, Peter often posed questions to Jesus representing concerns of the others (Matt. 15:15; 18:21; Mark 11:21; Luke 12:41). Peter’s name occurred first in listing the names of the Twelve (Matt. 10:2; Mark 3:16; Luke 6:14) and the inner circle (Peter, James, and John, in Mark 5:35-41; 9:2-8; 14:33, 43-50). But Peter sometimes had little faith and was sometimes audacious (Matt. 16:22; John 13:8; 18:10) and fearful (Matt. 14:30; 26:69-72). Sometimes he was self-seeking (Matt. 19:27), while at other times he was self-sacrificing (Mark 1:18). Sometimes he was spiritually perceptive (Matt. 16:16; John 6:68) and sometimes slow on the uptake (Matt. 15:15-l6). Once, he walked on water with Jesus but his faith waned and he began to sink (Matt. 14:28-31). But the greatest example of Peter’s imperfection was his confession, “You are the Christ”, opposed to his denial, “I do not know this man of whom you speak” (Matt. 16:16; Mark 14:71).

Peter is an excellent example for us to see how even those we perceive as “perfect” aren’t so perfect. And his life should stand as a stark reminder to us all that we aren’t perfect, either. No one can honestly say they haven’t struggled with faith, been presumptuous, fought fear or been selfish. But in the end, Peter’s faith in the Lord never ‘petered out’. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself… 🤷🏼‍♂️)

In the end, Peter was faithful to God. In the end, Peter was rewarded what was promised to the faithful: salvation to eternal life in heaven with the Creator of the universe. And, despite all your imperfections, that same salvation can yours as well! If you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for your sins and was raised so that you, too, will be raised, you will see Peter in heaven. You will see all the Apostles and everyone in heaven who were saved! ☧