METAMORPHOSIS OF A CHILD OF GOD

In one life-altering moment the fisherman was called to leave his boat and nets and become a fisher of men. Having experienced similar life altering situations which move us from our comfort zones into something foreign to our regular routines, it isn’t difficult to empathize with the trauma Peter might have been experiencing as he heard the Master say “follow me”. Although he was well qualified and seemed satisfied with his trade, I'm sure he felt less than prepared to teach the Plan of Happiness to friend and foe, to family and stranger and must have inwardly cowered at the thought of the challenging call. I suspect he did a quick inventory and judged himself wanting, unlearned and ignorant just as each of us might likewise have done many times in our lives. Nevertheless, Simon left his nets and bolstered by a beginning faith in the Savior and sensing the faith that the Lord had in him, he took the first timid steps on the road to becoming the boldest of the Apostles.

What did Jesus see as he looked upon the heart of Simon Bar Jonah that enabled Him to make such an inspired summon? What did He sense beyond the mortal senses? Did Peter wear the look of extraordinariness? Did his voice have the sound of a true trumpet? Or did the Savior see standing before Him a rough stone cut out of the mountain hiding a glistening gem deep within?

Shortly after his call the transformation from fisherman to spiritual giant began. I feel confident that as Peter followed the Savior around the shores of the Galilee and down through the Jordan Valley he listened intently to the teachings which flowed from the Master Teacher. I wonder if memory of times spent listening to this same voice during a time now veiled, brought thrilling flashes to his soul as glimpses of the glorious days of that other world sprinkled his consciousness. Daily his thirst was quenched by the constant flow from Divinity as the true way of life was unfolded. He sat on the Mount and heard the Great Sermon. He stood in the synagogue as the prophetic words of Isaiah and Ezekiel were expounded and fulfilled. Surrounded by humanity in public places or in intimate seclusion along the shores of the sea, he allowed the living waters to flow unto him from the Fountain of Truth.

To Simon the scriptures were revealed by the Revealer and the mystery of the creation was unveiled by the Creator. The public accounts of Peter’s conversion are available as a matter of record. I am awestruck with wonderment, as I ponder the thought of how much refining must have taken place in those unrecorded hours as Peter walked those dusty trails side by side with the Messiah? How much polishing must have been done night after night as he and the ‘few’ broke bread with the Savior? What a blessing to have been one of the few in the history of mankind to have been able to absorb pure wisdom as it flowed freely, true and undefiled rather than the normal encumbering learning which most of us stumble through as we deal with the taskmasters of trial and error.

In the historical Peter we witness a sometimes wavering, but continually growing faith as he goes from those first faltering steps of a neophyte until he briefly walks on the waters of Chinnereth; a faith which increasingly expanded as he healed, as prison walls fell at his bidding and the dead came back to life. Through all of his triumphs during his mortal journey Simon seemed to retain the balancing characteristic of humility, acknowledging the well from who had sprung the living waters, recognizing his position as a conduit and the Lord as the source, eventually accepting the threats and persecution willingly bearing the cross which can come to one who decides to be an example of the Exemplar.

Because he yielded his will to that of the Divine, the metamorphosis took place and Simon the fisherman became The Fisher of Men. Peter was changed and became spiritual, prophetic, a man of God, upon whose shoulders the Savior could place with confidence the burdens of His Kingdom.

Oh youth of this noble generation where do you find yourself this day on your journey of faith? Do you feel the faith your Lord has in you as you take your first faltering steps? Is your humility sufficient to keep you in constant remembrance of your roll as an under-servant? Has the hour come when you yield to the petitions contained in the flood of prayers which have Heaven ward flown? Are you ready to become active participants in the royal priesthood? Will you yield to the Divine refining touches which will remove the unnecessary silt which surrounds the gem hidden within you? Can you as did Enoch, Moses, Nephi and Peter allow the seed deep within to germinate and grow until you no longer remain a tightly wrapped bud, but allow the light of the Savior’s glory to bring you forth as a beautiful fully developed bloom. Let us this day chose to be wise and elect to accept the Savior as the only Way to becoming all we can become.