Written by: Will Blalock

Romans 3:23-24 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

2 Corinthians12:9-10 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

I have found myself relating to the story of Peter lately. I have read through the story of Jesus and the time he spent with His twelve disciples many times, and for some reason the story of Peter stands out to me more and more. I have begun to see what God is trying to tell me through Peter's story. For those that may be unfamiliar with Peter's story as it pertains to the story of Jesus, I will do my best to summarize:

Peter's original name was Simon, and he was known as a fisherman before following Christ and becoming one of his disciples.
Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter, which means, "rock."  Peter was the FIRST to publicly confess Jesus as the messiah and Son of God. Jesus saw the potential in Peter for the spreading of His Gospel, and He had great plans for Peter during the early formation of the church. Just like Jesus saw the potential in Peter, He sees that same potential in us. The question is, do we allow ourselves to see us the same way that God sees us? Because of Jesus's resurrection, God sees us as redeemed, not condemned - for those of us who choose to believe.

Peter followed Jesus throughout his ministry. We see him mentioned in many of the stories during Jesus ministries, including Jesus walking on water, as well as the story of cutting off the ear of the centurion guard at the time of Jesus's arrest. The most significant story that we come to know Peter for though was probably one of his darkest moments. Peter denied Jesus three times on the day of Jesus crucifixion. As close as Peter was to Jesus, he out of all people would have been able to believe Jesus was the Messiah, but Jesus knew he would deny him.

After Jesus makes Peter aware that Satan would be coming for Peter as well as the other disciples, Peter responds by saying, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." (Luke 22:33) Peter was so convicted and so compelled that he thought that he would have given his life for Christ. Jesus replies to him stating, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." (Luke 22:34) When we read further in the gospel of Luke, we see that prediction come to fruition. When Peter denies Jesus for the third time and the rooster crows, Jesus turned and looked directly at Peter. In that moment, Peter remembered what the Jesus said he would do. Peter ran out of the courtyard of the high priest where Jesus was being held and wept. Can you imagine the guilt and shame that Peter felt in the very moment of denying Jesus? Even as much as Peter loved Jesus and wanted to follow him, even to death, he was unable to withstand the power of sin, and before he could even realize what he had done, he had denied Jesus. 

I relate to Peter when I fall into the trap of sin as well. I feel that same guilt and shame in knowing that through my sins, I have essentially denied Christ just as Peter did. It is easy to get caught up, consumed, and overwhelmed in the emotions of guilt and disappointment when we sin. It can even become such a burden that it hinders our relationship with Christ. However, there is much more to Peter's story, just like there is much more to our story.

After Jesus was crucified and resurrected on the third day, he comes back and visits with his disciples a few times before he ascends to Heaven. On his last visit, Jesus has a very powerful moment with Peter, which both encourages and challenges Peter into his next steps as a disciple. Before Jesus leaves his disciples, he says to Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" Peter replies, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."Again, Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time He said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." (John 21:15-17)
There is so much power and impact in the grace, mercy, and reconciliation that is displayed in this one moment shared between Jesus and Peter. Jesus knew Peter's heart. He knew that Peter truly loved him even though he had let him down. Even through Peter's darkest moment Jesus forgave him. 

Just as Jesus knew Peter's heart, He knows our hearts as well. He knows all that we have done and all that we will do. He knows we will fall short and we will let him down, but he still reaches his hand out to us, offering His grace and mercy, asking the simple question… "Do you truly love me?" All he wants is for us to take His hand, and that's all we have to do. It is through Christ's love that we receive His grace and mercy, and it is through Christ that we are redeemed. 

Peter's story goes on, and he plays a monumental role in the formation of the early church, leading so many more to salvation through Christ, and eventually being killed for his faith. Can you imagine if Peter was never able to overcome the shame and disappointment of denying Christ? If for the rest of his life he cowered away and loathed over his darkest moments? God had bigger plans for Peter, and He has bigger plans for us as well. Are we listening and looking for what God might be trying to show us?
As an athlete, I tend to have the mentality that everything I do is performance based. In my eyes, if I don't perform as well as I think I am supposed to, I have failed. That mentality that I had on the baseball diamond is the same mentality that I carried in my personal life, and it still lingers today. It's a dangerous perspective to have. The flaw in this perspective, in terms of my relationship with Christ, is that anything I do, no matter how well I do it, will never be good enough for God. That is why God sent Jesus to do the "performing" for me and for all of us. Jesus gave the ultimate performance that no one can ever match. Christ died on a cross and rose from the grave so that we don't have to have the perfect performance. It's okay when we fail, because Christ has redeemed us. Instead of focusing on our shortcomings, we should focus on our redemption. In knowing and accepting the love of Christ, our sins have been covered. This frees us up to focus our eyes and our hearts on God and His plans for us. Christ calls us to be faithful not flawless. Therefore because of His love, we are redeemed!  Through his grace we have the freedom to live and focus on His purpose and will for us, instead of focusing on our failures.
If there is one thing, I can leave you with it is this… YOU ARE LOVED, and YOU ARE FORGIVEN.

God loves us more than we can ever imagine, and no matter what baggage or burden we carry, He wants to take it from us. All we have to do is give it to Him. Will you let Him carry your burden?

John 3:16-17… "For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son^[a] so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it." (TLB)