Peter+Essay+CC15

The Rock, Simon, and the Bishop of Rome are all names that Peter, a follower of Christ, is commonly referred as. Peter was the first apostle, the first Pope, and one of the original Twelve Apostles. He was such a devout Catholic that he changed his name from Simon to Peter and left all his possessions, in order to become a follower of Christ. It would be easy to say that he has had an eventful life in the least, but Peter was one like no other, he was a trailblazer. Through his teachings he paved the way for the Catholic church.

Peter was one of the most well known follower of Christ of his time. He carried throughout his life preaching, even after Jesus died. He was faced with danger in almost every aspect of his life, and that is why "bravery" most nearly describes him. In the early time of the Church Christianity was outlawed and if caught preaching, practicing, or having anything to do with the Christian religion, the penalty was immediate death. Christ and his followers took their lives in their hands when agreeing to spread the Christian faith, and because of their bravery the Christian religion in the largest in the world. Peter was a huge part of this effort, and after the death of Christ he was thought to be the leader. He led the Apostles for a short time and they then parted ways in order to spread their faith to every corner of the Earth. Another characteristic of Peter is that he was "strong". Now this doesn't mean that he had huge muscles, and that surely wasn't why he was called the rock, this means that he was a man that was completely completely devoted to the church and was a man of strong will and emotion. This is displayed in Acts 11:1-18 when he explained his faith to high priest who are bombarding his with difficult questions. He sets them straight and stays strong to his faith, something that we should all learn from.

Out of all the people in the world you may ask yourself why Jesus would pick an everyday fisherman to be the first earthly leader of our church? As the first Pope Peter had a lot of responsibility, and every day was surely filled with new challenges. What made Jesus believe in him? His virtues and personality traits made him the perfect Pope. Jesus saw this in him and chose him to be an apostle specifically for this reason. Peter was a good man, he was kind beyond belief and very trustworthy person. He was very passionate about his faith and he was Jesus' biggest fan. In John 18: 5-14 when Jesus chops off a Roman guard's ear because he is arresting Jesus. Even though this was an irrational decision, it shows the relationship that Peter had with Jesus, it was that of love and respect, and it is this reason that Jesus picked Peter as the first Pope. Peter had a good instinct, and Jesus knew that when things got rough he would make the best decision possible.

Being the first Pope peter had to lead by example, and that was not always the easiest thing to do, especially when some of his decisions would last forever. Peter was human and he would make mistakes but the one thing the all Popes should learn from Peter is to love God above all things, including yourself. This means to not be vain and realize that without God you wouldn't even have the opportunity to be vain because you would be nothing. Even though Peter was a great example he made some terrible mistakes. One was discussed earlier in verse John 18: 5-14, but perhaps his most memorable is Luke 22: 54-62 when he denies Jesus three times. This may not seem like such a bad decision when he could have died, but it is like denying that your mother and father are not your parents. He denied that knowing his master, the person that he loved and trusted most in the world. This is not what future Popes should learn, but rather that he was sorry for his mistake he denied Jesus and wept, knowing that he had done wrong. He also never denied Jesus again and it eventually led to his death. Future Popes should be like Peter in the sense that they should be strong in their faith and learn from their mistakes.

Peter was one of the most devout followers of Christ and perhaps the most influential of the original twelve apostles. Though he works we can come to know God and many of his beliefs are the backbone of our church today. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and Peter was murdered for his beliefs. As Catholic followers we can even learn from Peter's death. He bravely accepted his death and asked to be hung upside down because he was not worthy to die as Jesus had. We can too learn to put God above everything, including ourselves, and be brave in times of hardship.Over all Peter had an eventful life as the first Pope, one of the Twelve Apostles, and the first apostle of christ. If we all try we can learn from the life of this incredible man.