“Simon,
Simon! satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat”: Notice we are under the power and keeping of God.
satan must “ask for you”, before he can touch a hair on your head. This is
reminiscent of the conversation satan had with God over Job, eons earlier. The
“accuser of the brethren” can do little more than accuse without divine
permission. Then, as now, God allows, setting the conditions and limits of
satan’s attacks. Peter, the Gibraltar of faith who walked on water, would
crumble into a pebble of a man this night. Satan would thresh his faith,
beating it against the hard ground of life until the husk broke open exposing
the small naked kernel of faith. Satan would winnow all of Peter’s chaff... but
the wheat belonged to Jesus.
“But I
have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail”: Our modern usage of “sift”
is to put something through a sieve by violent agitation, straining out and
isolating what is most important. The
adversity of life can “sift” us, but it cannot destroy our faith. Quite the
contrary sifting purifies our faith, burning out the dross. You see, our Lord
has prayed for us... and His prayers are always answered. Tests and trials of
faith are transformational, preparing us for the “greater works” of Kingdom
life... such as becoming “partakers
of Christ … partakers of the divine nature … partakers of His holiness … partakers of the Holy Spirit”, in a word “Christlikeness.” Then we
will be equipped for our work of ministry and “strengthening the brethren.”
In John’s
gospel Jesus describes himself as “The True Vine” and His disciples as His “branches”
who are sustained, nurtured, and bear fruit by “abiding”, continuing in
unbroken union with Him. The fruit of this union is Christlikeness. In Romans
Jesus is described as an olive tree whose branches, His followers, “partake of the root and fatness of the
olive tree”, and are cautioned to remember that they do not support the root,
but the root supports them. The fruit of this union is, again, Christlikeness. We
desperately need the fatness of the root, the fullness of Christ’s character,
virtues, values, and attitudes, flowing freely through us as our nature.
Transformation,
being “conformed into the image (nature) of His Son (Christ)”, is a product of “life”
working on the branches, much like wind causes tree branches to thicken and
grow stronger in preparation for the storms which will come. The adversity and
afflictions of life tests, approves, and strengthens our faith while we partake
of the sustaining fatness of our Root, and replicate His nature within as fruit
of our union with Him. And, this is the “Abundant Life” He promised us,
partaking of His nature…
“FOR WE HAVE BECOME PARTAKERS OF CHRIST”
(Lk.
22:31-32; Job 1:8-12; Heb. 3:14, 12:10, 6:4; 2 Peter 1:4;Rom. 11:17-18, 8:29;
Jn. 10:10)
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