Mark 14:29
But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.

Our boasts are often misguided.  Our perception of ourselves can get distorted.  Usually when we compare ourselves to others, we end up deceived about who we truly are.  Peter had set himself apart as the only one who would not be offended.  He gave himself the distinction of being the lone faithful follower.  He truly thought that he was the one who would not forsake Jesus—and, in fact, that he would actually die for Him.  But Peter, for his pride, gained a different distinction as the only one who denied his Lord three times that night.

We have to be careful about our view of ourselves, because we are not always who we think we are.  It’s better to accept Jesus’ assessment of us instead.  But that takes a humble attitude.  Jesus doesn’t point out our weaknesses or the things that are wrong just to be unkind to us or make us feel bad.  It’s for our own good, to help us make better choices, to show us our need for Him, to redirect our focus.

If Peter would have believed Jesus, if he could have seen himself more from Jesus’ perspective and less from his own, he may have still fled and abandoned Him when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, but maybe he wouldn’t have also denied Him.  Jesus did what He could in warning Peter, but He couldn’t make him do the right thing.  So Peter ended up in the last place he would ever want to be because he was blinded to the truth of who he really was.  It was noble of him to want to be the one who wouldn’t be offended, but he underestimated his ability to actually put that into practice.

But something good surely came out of this experience for Peter.  Anytime we can learn from our mistakes, we’re all the better for it.  Maybe after this he wasn’t quite as prideful about the great things he would do.  Maybe he was more willing to listen to Jesus.  Maybe he got to a place where he realized he didn’t have to stand in his own strength and ability.  And we can learn those same lessons.  Let’s not allow our pride to blind us and distort our vision of who we really are.  Because when we can see our smallness and our need and the truth of our humanity, it draws us closer to Jesus, who will pour out His love and grace into our lives.