Missions Resources - Bibliography
A Fragile Stone: The Emotional Life of Simon Peter
Authors: Michael Card
ISBN: 978-0830834457
Publisher: IVP Books
Number of pages: 192
Type of cover: Soft Cover
Summary:
“Friends help each other understand who the other is.”
While most would agree with Michael Card’s statement, few would think to apply it to a relationship with God. In A Fragile Stone, the singer-songwriter offers such a view of Jesus through the intriguing character of one of his closest friends from his time on earth: Simon Peter.
Card begins his study by digging into the dichotomy of Apostle Peter’s character as both foundational rock, and premature passion. Peter’s person, he speculates, lies somewhere between the two.
Using well-known stories like walking on water, the transfiguration and the three-time denial, Card observes more than just the wonder of the miracles. The author instead reads between lines to uncover what happens between the hearts of the fisherman and his teacher; he does this by referencing overlooked hints in scripture, like the look that Jesus gave Peter after he denied him a third time.
Details like these portray Peter’s heart in such a relatable way, that the reader is able to nearly rationalize Peter’s three denials of Christ. Card’s imagination and thorough study enable readers to be present in an otherwise distant story of a common man attempting to understand himself (“You are Simon”) while helping his friend proclaim who he is (“Who do you say that I am?”).
Yet Card does not confine his study to these two characters. He challenges his readers to answer questions similar to those posed of Peter (“How does [God] define you?”) and to find pieces of themselves in Peter’s expressions: “We all cry out, ‘Go away from me, I’m a sinful person!’ and in the next breath shout, ‘Come and save me!’”
The gap between Peter’s emotional discipleship and his rock-like leadership is bridged in part two of Card’s book. These final five chapters are divided according to Peter’s new identity as a church leader—with titles like “Fearless Prisoner” and “Passionate Preacher.”
Down-to-earth and insightful, A Fragile Stone offers a heart connection to a gospel story that many long-time Christians are without. Michael Card’s forward portrayal of Simon Peter’s emotional life reflects a more personal image of what it means to befriend Christ and to find identity in him.
While they are admittedly nothing to be basing theology on, Card’s creative speculations should not be passed off as playful invention: “If every time we read these passages about the failure and heartbreak of Peter, our hearts don’t at the same time break a little more, we have failed to interact with the details of scripture at the level of our imaginations.”
by Shannon Whiting
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