Peter bragged about how he would never deny his Lord. His actions on the night of Jesus’ arrest turned that brag into a lie. Just as Jesus said he would, Peter denied Jesus three times within the span of an hour, thinking more about saving his own hide than about his devotion to his Lord. In response Jesus looked directly at Peter just as the rooster crowed, bringing Peter under personal conviction concerning what he had just done. Fortunately, Jesus’ goal all along was to restore Peter as He described even before Peter sinned. And after His resurrection, Jesus took action, making sure that Peter understood that he was still an integral part of Jesus’ ministry plan.
John 21:15-19 describes a conversation between Jesus and Peter that took place after the resurrection. Three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him. Three times Peter says yes. Whereas Peter once denied Jesus three times within the span of an hour, now he gets the opportunity to declare his love three times presumably in a much shorter time span. In response to each one of Peter’s declarations of love, Jesus instructs Peter to move forward in His ministry. With this conversation we see that Peter has been restored both in his relationship with the Lord and in his position as an Apostle, serving our Lord and Savior.
The Bible brings us God’s message of deliverance and of restoration but our Lord does not stop at just words. He is a God of action, working in our lives to bring us to the point where we live out what He is doing in our hearts. We see this in the fact that Jesus did not leave Peter wondering where he stood after his sin. Instead Jesus actively sought Peter out, pointing him in the right direction for his ministry. Likewise I believe Jesus seeks us out even after we stumble. His Spirit speaks to our hearts, telling us that we are still His and working to restore us that we might receive His love.
Nothing can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). No matter how bad you think your sin might be nor how bad you think you are as a person, God loves you. He gave His Son that you might have life. If you have not received His gift of salvation, trust in Him and receive His gift today. If you are already a believer, remember that He will restore you even after you sin. Receive His forgiveness and let Him restore you in His love. He’ll do exactly as He has time and again: exactly as He did with Peter. He will follow through on His promise to restore you.
No comments:
Post a Comment