The unexpected journey began for Peter and his brother Andrew when Jesus approached them that day on the lakeside, asking them to follow him. Over the course of approximately three years, the brothers—along with the other disciples—discovered a close personal relationship with the Lord. The story of Jesus telling Peter how he would die takes the relationship to a deeper level.
This is important to understand because it illustrates your walk and my walk down an unexpected path that begins with an offer to follow me.
Following Jesus begins with a decision; that decision leads to an action, and that action leads to a discipline. The lakeside incident in the Apostle Peter’s life takes place approximately three-years after his decision to follow Jesus. This is important to understand because our modern mindset is so used to everything being right-now.
Having a close personal relationship with the godhead takes time, and there are many actions to take in order to create the discipline needed to have such a relationship. This is why I like the book, The Shack; it paints a picture of how to have such a discipline.
The foundation of everything humanity does involves our mind, will, and emotions. There is a process for every decision made, and without it you will not move forward. Your emotions play a huge roll in making your decision. Once you hear, or see, or smell something, it triggers a response in your mind. Your mind will scream either for you stop, or encourage you to move forward, or remain neutral. In each of these responses, a decision is made, to stop, move forward, or look for a trigger to do one of the other.
This oversimplified illustration of anatomy is used in every process of our human existence. In the story of Peter and his brother, they hear a man speaking some words. Those words resonate in their brain, triggering a positive thought or feeling. This thought or feeling prompts them to an action, in this case, to follow.
This process is repeated many times over before a discipline is established. The Bible tells of other stories—actions along the way—that assist Peter in establishing a discipline. In one place, following a supernatural event by Jesus, the disciples cry out, “Who is this man?” In another place—following a teaching of Jesus—the disciples decide they can no longer follow him.
All of this to say that a close personal relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit begin with—and continue with—a decision, that leads to an action, that leads to a discipline.