Peter — beloved of God

Luke 22:54-62
by Brian Knitter

We all know the story of Peter denying Jesus three times, but have we ever put ourselves in that place? Have we ever found ourselves in that place?

As Peter crept behind Jesus in the crowd, people would notice him and ask: “Weren’t you one of His followers?” Three times, Peter said, “no.” The third time, Jesus shot him a glance from a distance. Jesus had known that Peter would deny Him, and as the cock crowed, Peter remembered what Jesus had said. Peter went away and cried bitterly. He felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders at that moment. He had denied that he even knew Jesus, who of course is God!

Sins such as denial and betrayal can make us feel crummy as well. We’ve all done it at some point. In those moments, we recognize that we are hopelessly sinful and retched. We don’t deserve to be in God’s presence — ever. It’s a good thing God isn’t fair (think about it) — when we deserve justice, God delivers mercy and the hope of eternal life through the blood of His Son, Jesus.
I’m going to skip ahead for a moment: in John 21:15-18, Jesus restored Peter by forgiving him and entrusting him with the mission of taking care of the new Christian church. If you are feeling crummy and unlovable, perhaps distant from God, you need to run towards Him and embrace Him. Tell Him what’s wrong and ask for forgiveness. God is merciful to those who ask for mercy. He will lift you up, embrace you back, and perhaps send you out to take care of His church in some way.
Avoid sin whenever possible, ask for forgiveness always, and know that God will take care of you. He loves you more than you can ever know!