Not About a Bullet

People often say, "I'd take a bullet for that guy..."  Would you?  I have always respected Timothy McCarthy.  Timothy McCarthy was a special agent with the job of protecting President Ronald Reagan.  On March 30, 1981 in an assasination attempt upon Reagan, instead of ducking when he heard the shots, McCarthy jumped between the president and the shooter and took a shot in the abdomen.  He laid himself out in a spread eagle jump and did his job to help save the President's life.  That blew me away when I was 11 years old and it still blows me away today.  (Of course, you've got to realize that I ducked one time at a 21 gun salute at a soldier's funeral. I thought they were going to aim the rifles higher before they shot.  Instead they were aiming them at me and they went off.  Scared me to death.  I guess I'm not quite Secret Service status yet.)
I hold Reagan high on a pedestal and I believe our country has a great example of what a president can and ought to be.  We probably would not have had that example if McCarthy had not taken a bullet for him 69 days into his presidency. 

Peter was ready to take a bullet for Jesus.  The reality is, though, that before Peter died for Christ, Christ merely wanted him to live for Him without reservation.  John 13:38- Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.Peter could not do that through the night. 
What Christ wanted from Peter is the same thing He wants from us: to live for Him.   We should not back away from our commitment to Christ when it is not socially acceptable or not convenient or when a Christian commitment may 'cramp our style.'  No, we live on for Him in the midst of all of that.  That is what we are to do today.  Not deny Him in our words or actions, thoughts or plans but remain committed to Him whatever may come.

Peter died for Christ.  He walked through these horrible events surrounding the cross and became one of the boldest voices for Christ in history until they took his life for it.   But before his death, Christ just wanted him to live for Him.  That is what He wants from us.  Few of us, if any, will die for our commitment to Christ, but we are all called to live for Him and die to self in the process. 

It is not about taking a bullet.  It is about living a life.  Do that today.