Peter's Wife

Last week we considered Mary, Jesus' mother, and her role at the wedding at Cana.  This week we will consider another woman of the Bible, one that has never been discussed in any of the bible studies in which I have participated.  I must be honest with you at the outset: there is very little information about her, yet we know she was existed.  Matthew 8:14 Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  We know very little about the personal lives of the apostles through the Bible, yet they clearly had lives before Jesus came onto the scene.  Imagine with me for a little while what it must have been like to be a family member of one of the apostles....  Peter leaves one morning to go fishing, just as he has everyday of their marriage.  He says goodbye to his wife and kids and off he goes.  However when he returns he is totally changed.  How does he explain to his wife what has happened to him and more importantly, how does he explain that he is going to follow this man called Jesus?  How is his wife to manage taking care of their family when Peter is now spending all of his time with this man of whom she knows nothing?  Can you imagine as a spouse, as a caretaker of the home and family, what this must have done to her mind?
I believe that we can surmise that Peter and his wife had come to an excellent understanding of what God was calling them to do.  Notice I use the plural.  When a spouse is called to serve, there has to be unity in purpose at home if the call is to be answered.  There are extra-biblical writings that do record information about Peter's wife and how she supported him.  However, we will let Peter's description of marriage in his own writings give us a sense of how he felt.  1 Peter 3:1-2 is just an introduction to this area. In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior.  I choose to believe that Peter was describing his own wife.  He was blessed to witness this response in action through his wife's acceptance of his authority and his understanding of what Jesus was telling him.     Have you ever felt as if your life was turned upside down because someone in your life had passionately embraced the call of God?  It could have been a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a best friend.  Nothing stays the same when God calls and we answer.  None of our relationships can stay where they were.  No aspect of our lives can stay as it was.  We have a choice we can make, just as Peter's wife did.  Can you imagine what ministry would have been like for him if his wife had not embraced the call with him?  Similarly can you even begin to imagine what her life was like because she did embrace the call with him?  Think about it.    Her once normal existence was dramatically altered. She never knew who Peter would be bringing home.  Here she was caring for her sick mother and in waltzes Peter with Jesus and most likely the rest of the apostles.  I can picture the look on her face.  Have you ever been there?  Caring for sick folks and then suddenly having to entertain?  But when God comes calling the extraordinary will happen, if we will obediently open the door and let Him in.  If the historical accounts of Peter are true, his wife was martyred before him and he encouraged her all the way to execution.  I will leave it to you to explore these sources.  My challenge to you is this: are you willing to have a life altering transformation occur because of your encounter with Jesus?  I am not suggesting that you forsake your jobs and run to the mission fields.  The mission fields are right here in front of us.  America is one of the most lost nations on earth of those that claim to be Christian.  Rather I am suggesting that how we live our lives should reflect the dramatic shift from being worldly  centered to being Godly centered.  Most importantly, our families should be impacted by this shift, followed by our friends and our workplaces.  Again, think about Peter's wife and the impact on her friends and family after Peter came home and shared the news.  Imagine the next morning when Peter takes off to go follow Jesus and his wife tries to move about a normal day - only there is no normal any more.  I wonder what those first conversations were like that she had with her friends.  It is time that we all become radical for Christ.   If our lives do not demonstrate that we have been transformed then it begins today.  I recently read a wonderful word in Bill Johnson's book, When Heaven Invades Earth, "We must plan as though we have a lifetime to live, but work and pray as though we have very little time left."  Live with the same fervor that the apostles did.  Jesus has touched our lives.  He lives and because He lives, we are now able to enjoy eternity with Him. That is not a futuristic statement.  We are enjoying the beginning of eternity with Him right now!  Live your lives with the knowledge that you are walking with Him now!  The kingdom of God is real and within us.  Please live your lives that way and let the light of God beam out from within you to impact this dark world.  If you are blessed to have someone in your family passionately embracing Him, do not be critical, but jump on board!  It is contagious, see for yourselves.  Spread the infectious love of God wherever you are in life.