(John 21:18) “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” This statement was made to Peter by Jesus after he asked him 3 times if he loved hm. As we know Peter denied the Lord three times the night of his betrayal, and so here in (John 21) Jesus confronted Peter on his commitment of love. You see, in the Greek language there are three different words used for the word “love.” 1) “Agapeo” love. This is the type of love that caused Jesus to die on a cross for mankind. 2) “Phileo” love. Is the type of love one might have toward a good friend or someone you like. 3) “Eros” love. An erotic sexual love. The 3rd is never used in the Bible, but in the first two questions that Jesus asked Peter he asked him if he “agapeo” him, to which Peter replied “I phileo you” twice. Meaning, I can’t say if I would be willing to die for you now. So, Jesus in his last question to Peter said, “do you phileo me more than these?” To which he replied, “you know I phileo uou.” Christians have debated this exchange of words for years, and have come up with different conclusions, but I believe the most accurate one is that Peter after failing Christ 3 times, just simply could not promise him that he would have the courage to die for him. To which Jesus gave him the above verse, encouraging him by saying that you may not be able to promise “agapeo” love right now, but one day your love will grow to be “agapeo.” For Peter did die on a cross as Christ predicted later, with “agapeo love.”
( Gen 41:41-43) “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt... A nd he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.” When Joseph was introduced to us in chp.37, he was a young inexperienced 17 year old boy, and yet 13 years later God raised him up to rule the nation of Egypt. So, what made him different ? The Answer : “ Time,” and his faith in God ! You see time is a wonderful teacher; 1) Time strengthens endurance . Endurance and faith can only be strengthened over time. Like exercise, we start out not able to do much but over time we find that we can do more. You see, God allows us to go through the ups and downs of life, to help us gain not only spiritual maturity, but also spiritual abilities. Spiritual endurance therefore enables us to handle life’s trials better. 2) Time strengthens patience . Although Joseph, ...
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