(John 21:17) He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" . . .
As we know, Peter denied the Lord three times. Here on the shores of Galilee Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him. Ouch! What do you say? Each time he humbly answered in the affirmative. You see, Jesus was restoring Peter, and Peter was beginning again.
With the Lord there is always a fresh new beginning. Just when we think it’s over the Lord says otherwise because He has us covered. (Rom 4:7) "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered.
Like Peter we mess things up. We do good and then we do bad. Like the old saying says, “When you’re hot, you’re hot. When you’re not, you’re not!” I am constantly humbled by my sin nature. It can be totally depressing, or it can throw me onto the grace of God. It is there that I experience forgiveness and restoration. And it is from that platform where I can launch into a new beginning. The only problem I have with this is I find myself at that place more than I want to be. But I know that with the Lord there is always a fresh new start. Because of His grace there’s always one more chance. A time for beginning again.
Sometimes we wonder if we can ever exhaust the grace of God. But we’ll never be able to because His grace is like the waves of the sea that keep crashing onto the shores of sinful despondency. (John 1:16) And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
Are you at a place in life where you need to begin . . . again? Like Peter have you experienced failure? Are you overwhelmed by guilt and condemnation? Are you despairing of your fallen state and would like to move out of state? One day you will when Jesus comes to take you heaven. But until then you’re going to need to know where all fallen comrades go for cleansing and restoration:
(Zech 13:1) "In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
Like the old hymn says: “There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel's veins And sinners, plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains.” Is it time for you to take a dip?
Peter went on and did great things for God. But He could never boast of his sinless pedigree. Every time he would hear a rooster crow he had to eat humble pie. But that’s good. Our sins keep us humble and reliant on God’s grace. We can boast about our infirmities and cling to that old rugged cross. No matter how bad the situation looks or how bad I’ve messed things up I know that because of God’s grace I am allowed the opportunity of beginning again!
Louie