Christ Keeps Us

There is a moment in the Gospel of Luke that is easy to read past, but if you slow down and sit inside it, it will change the way you understand your faith entirely. It is the night of the Passover. Jesus has gathered his twelve apostles in a private place for what he knows will be his final meal before his suffering and death. The weight of that moment is almost impossible to overstate. Jesus himself says that he has desired this meal with great desire. Every word spoken that night carries the gravity of a man standing at the threshold of unimaginable suffering. And yet, in the middle of that moment, Jesus turns to Simon Peter and speaks a warning that cuts right to the heart of every believer who has ever wondered whether their faith would hold. "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." -- Luke 22:31-32