'
But do I blame St. Peter for saying, 'Depart from me; for I am a
sinful man, O Lord'? God forbid! Who am I, to blame St. Peter?
Especially when even the Lord Jesus did not blame him, but only bade
him not to be afraid.
And why did the Lord not blame him, even when he asked Him to go
away?
Because St. Peter was honest. He said frankly and naturally what was
in his heart. And honesty, even if it is mistaken, never offends
God, and ought never to offend men. God requires truth in the inward
parts; and if a man speaks the truth--if he expresses his own
thoughts and feelings frankly and honestly--then, even if he is not
right, he is at least on the only road to get right, as St. Peter
was.
He spoke not from dislike of our Lord, but from modesty; from a
feeling of awe, of uneasiness, of dread, at the presence of one who
was infinitely greater, wiser, better than himself.
And that feeling of reverence and modesty, even when it takes the
shape, as it often will in young people, of shyness and fear, is a
divine and noble feeling--the beginning of all goodness. Indeed, I
question whether there can be any real and sound goodness in any
man's heart, if he has no modesty, and no reverence. Boldness,
forwardness, self-conceit, above all in the young--we know how ugly
they are in our eyes; and the Bible tells us again and again how ugly
they are in the sight of God.
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