God’s Grace
When I was young and in the Air Force I lost a tool bag. It’s a big deal to loose a tool, so I was pretty stressed about it. We had been working on an aircraft, which made it even more of a big deal. But, we didn’t have to worry because I knew, without a doubt, that I had not taken that tool bag out to the aircraft.
After looking for the bag for an hour, we decided to check the aircraft, just in case I was wrong. Guess what? I was wrong. As soon as we arrived at the aircraft we could see the tool bag. I was ashamed and in a lot of trouble. I had done something wrong and doubled down on my mistake by assuring everyone that I had not taken that bag to the aircraft.
The apostle Peter does something similar - doubling down on a mistake that he made. Now, Peter made all kinds of mistakes, which is why I love him so much, but one (4 really) in particular stands out. Jesus tells Peter that he (Peter) is going to deny Him (Jesus), to which Peter rebukes Jesus. (mistake #1).
When Jesus is arrested, Peter sneaks in to watch what was happening and is seen by others and asked if he knew Jesus. Peter denied knowing the Lord (mistake #2). When pressed further, he denies Jesus again (mistake #3). And, as if adding insult to injury, when Peter is asked a third time, he adamantly denies having anything to do with Jesus (mistake #4). Just like me, Peter doubled down on his mistake. He was committed to his lie, afraid of what might happen to him if people knew that he was a follower of Jesus.
If we know the story of Peter, we know that this was not the end for him. After Jesus returns from the grave, He sees Peter and restores him - asking if he (Peter) loved him (Jesus). Peter affirms his love for Jesus and Jesus commands him to feed his sheep. In grace, Jesus restores Peter.
In our own lives, we fail time and time again. Scripture tells us that we have all fallen short of the glory of God. But more than that, it shows us that we all constantly fall short of that glory. We can never and will never live up to it on our own. And that’s okay - because like Jesus does with Peter, grace is poured out over and over again.
When our sins and shortcoming were forgiven on the cross, they were forgiven for all eternity. Every sin, past, present, and future, was forgiven. We simply have to live in God’s grace.
Now, this does not mean we can go on living in sin - in fact, if we are saved from sin, it is impossible. When we are saved we are no longer slaves to sin, but to righteousness. We need to live as one who has been justified in Christ, but we also need to trust in His grace, knowing that it is enough for us and that His mercies are renewed every day.
