According to the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary (MBD), Simon Peter metaphysically represents the spiritual quality of faith. Since Simon Peter was one of the first disciples called by Jesus, January, being the first month of the year, is the month that Charles Fillmore associates with faith. Simon, which means “hearing,” signified his receptivity and ability to discern Truth. When he demonstrated this capacity, Jesus changed his name to Simon Peter. In the Greek language, the name “Peter” is also the same as the word for “rock.” So with his name change, this man moved from just being receptive and discerning to having strong, unwavering, and enduring faith in God.
Interestingly, faith is one of the first spiritual faculties to be called into expression by everyone who seeks to follow Jesus’ teachings in life. The faith Peter represents isn’t blind faith where we are just willy-nilly trusting God. In its truest sense, faith is a necessary foundation for the building up of spiritual consciousness within an individual. When Jesus said, “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18), he was talking about building our Christ consciousness, and faith is the building block with which we begin.
The Thinking Nature of Faith
Hebrews 11:1-3 discusses the meaning of faith. It reads: “Now faith is the reality of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Our faith center is located in our heads, in the pineal gland, right in the middle of our brain or where our thoughts originate. Its nature is to think, and think it will.
Unity’s Principle #3 states that “We are co-creators with God, creating our reality through thoughts held in mind.” When I observe my thoughts, I begin to discern that at times, I can be ignorant of what my mind is thinking and allow myself to be ruled by my thoughts, which can create all kinds of chaos. Instead, I can choose to harness the thoughts I think, so that I can co-create the world in which I live.
I Am What I Think I Am
We are all familiar with Descartes’s famous axiom, “I think, therefore I am.” In metaphysical terms, this is precisely the same as if Jesus had said, “I am Peter, therefore I am.” This is I AM losing itself in its own creation. Exactly the converse of this statement is true: I AM, therefore I think. The I AM nature is our Christ nature, which is the ability to decide who we are. “I AM love. I AM abundant. I AM peace.” We have power over what we choose to believe, and also what we believe is possible.
Motivational speaker, inspirational author, and positive thinker, Wayne Dyer was once stuck at an airport needing to get to Chicago by the next morning, where he was to be the single keynote speaker for a large convention. When he arrived at the gate, the agent told him there was no way he was going to make it to Chicago by the next morning. Undeterred by this declaration, Dyer kept asking to speak with someone else, until he finally spoke to someone who was willing to believe it might be possible to make it to Chicago.
The result of his faith was that he walked into the hotel ten minutes before he was supposed to begin speaking. He demonstrated tenacious faith! I’d like to think I’d have done the same thing, but I’ve been in similar situations and spoke to three agents before I gave up and made calls telling folks I was going to be late. Granted I was not the keynote speaker for a large gathering, but in retrospect, I could have exercised greater faith.
Faith Perceives What Is Not Yet Seen
Martin Luther King Jr. said that “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” That first step is believing that something is possible, and maybe not even really believing it, but hoping that it might be possible.
In his book The Revealing Word, Charles Fillmore, Unity’s Co-Founder, defined faith as the perceiving power of the mind, which is linked with the power to shape substance. Stated another way, faith is the power to do the seemingly impossible.
The Demonstration of Unwavering Faith
In the 1999 movie, the Matrix, Morpheus, the leader of a bunch of covert rebels, believes that Neo, is the young deliverer, the promised or chosen one who will save them. Morpheus tells Neo, “You have to let it all go… Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind.” Morpheus believes that Neo is the chosen one. Almost no one agrees or shares Morpheus’ enthusiasm concerning Neo, nor do they have faith in Morpheus’ prophecies of Neo rescuing them. Yet, Morpheus perseveres, even in the face of an antagonist who taunts him, “Not everyone believes what you believe Morpheus.” Morpheus serenely replies, “My faith doesn’t require that they do.” Now that is unshakable faith!
We will either allow the world to define our faith, or we will assume responsibility for defining it ourselves. We get to write the script, and then see it manifest into our world. If we become like a rock in our faith, maintaining our focused thoughts and demonstrating the steadfast, unwavering faith of Peter, or Wayne Dyer, or Morpheus, our faith will become a blessing in our lives, perceiving the seemingly impossible and then witnessing its manifestation.
Namaste.
