Focus: Introspection

Text: Mk.14:72

"And Peter CALLED TO MIND the word that Jesus said unto him… And when he THOUGHT thereon, he wept."

Henry David Thoreau said, "Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be." Our text tells us that Peter "thought thereon." Peter thought. He thought about his cowardice and lack of character. Upon his denial of Christ, he thought of the words spoken to him before the incidence of his denial.

Simon Peter failed to keep his word. He promised never to deny Christ, but he did, and the moment that happened, he called to mind the encounter he had with Christ and His words to him. Apart from the fact that Peter remembered the words that Christ had spoken to him, he also took time to think of the whole thing. He tried to digest the whole experience. He, by thinking, traveled within himself.

You know, Peter did not only fail Christ, but he also failed himself. He really flopped. He failed to stand by his own words and failed to prove Christ wrong. Peter must have asked himself, 'Why did I ever get into this mess in the first place? How come I failed to keep my promise to my Lord? Whatever happened to me? Why me? Can I ever forgive myself?' Peter spent time with himself, trying to figure out where he missed it. He searched himself thoroughly and felt terribly bad and sad about his act of disloyalty and inconsistency.

The result was that he wept bitterly. He couldn't control his tears. He felt intense pain for his moral lapse and denial of his Lord and Savior. He moved from the place of thinking to the place of tears. Aristotle said that "knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." Peter thought long and deep about his betrayal and truly regretted ever denying his beloved Master in such a cruel manner. He was remorseful and repentant, but that was because he took the time to pause and ponder the matter. He did not try to brush it aside as a matter of no importance. He did not try to excuse it away as mere moral weakness. Charles Bukowski said, "There are times when those eyes inside your brain stare back at you." That really happened to Peter.

Peter fared better reflecting on the whole situation. He let the tears out. He felt deeply sorry.

Confucius said, "By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest."

People who don't cry for the offense they have committed show lack of proper reflection. For a lot of Christians, tears have dried up in their eyes, and a religion that is devoid of tears is a religion in which a man can lie to his own soul. We are moved to tears when we take time to consider the things we say or do that offend others. C. G. Jung has it that "Visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." Looking inside one's self is introspection.

Introspection and solitude go together. We need time to be alone with ourselves. Aldous Huxley said, "The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude." It is also said by another that the only journey is the one within. Peter took that journey and it paid him so well. I have always believed that meditation is medication.

Luke reports, "And the Lord TURNED, and LOOKED upon Peter. And Peter REMEMBERED the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and WEPT BITTERLY" (Lk.22:61,62). The moment Peter denied his Master, Jesus Christ turned and looked at him. He made an eye contact with Peter. That eye contact triggered a whole lot in Peter's mind. He made him think by just a look. It is said that the only way out is within.

It is by remembering that we can take precautions or preventive measures. It is by remembering that we regret our past actions and silly mistakes. It is by remembering that we can truly repent. It is by remembering that we can make up our minds to change for the better and improve our lives.

Let us find time to call to mind our unaddressed and unsettled past actions, and have them nailed once and for all. Peter writes, "Yea, I THINK it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to STIR you up by putting you in REMEMBRANCE" (2Pet.1:13). Peter sums it all up: thinking, reminding, and stirring up. When we think and remember things, our minds and hearts are stirred up. Peter thought and remembered, and now he is helping us to remember as well, and getting our hearts stirred up by so doing.

Let us take time to think introspectively! Let us cultivate the culture and habit of solitude! We read about Isaac, that he "went out to MEDITATE in the field at the EVENTIDE: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming" (Gen.24:63). From the place of solitude and meditation we can see and feel. Jim Rohn says, "Take time to be quiet. This is something that we don't do enough in this busy world of ours. We rush, rush, rush, and we are constantly listening to the noises all around us. The human heart was meant for times of quiet, to peer deep within. It is when we do this that our hearts are set free to soar and take flight on the wings of our own dreams! Schedule some quiet "dream time" this week. No other people. No cell phone. No computer. Just you, a pad, a pen, and your thoughts." And in the words of Socrates, "The unexamined life is not worth living." No one judges a man who has first judged himself. That is introspection.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter