Do not deny Him
I used to think it was absurd that Peter denied Jesus three times. How could someone who had walked so closely with Him, witnessed His miracles, and heard His teachings, under pressure, say he did not know Him? That was until I realized that, many times, I have also denied Jesus. Perhaps not with words, but with choices, attitudes, omissions, and moments where I preferred to hide my faith.
And even after all the denials, Christ continues to welcome us back. Perhaps today you also feel ashamed to approach God again. Perhaps you think you have gone too far or that you do not deserve to return. But there is something you need to remember: He loves you deeply.
When fear leads to denial
“Then he began to call down curses on himself and to swear, ‘I do not know the man!’ Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.”
Matthew 26:74-75 (NIV)
Peter did not deny Jesus because he did not love Him. He was afraid. Faced with a situation of pressure, his courage vanished, and he tried to protect himself. Perhaps that is precisely what makes his story so close to our own. How many times do we know who Jesus is, but keep silent to avoid discomfort? How many times do we compromise our values to be accepted, hide our faith, or choose that which we know distances us from God?
But what a pleasure it is to feel discomfort for the sake of following Christ.
It is easy to look at Peter and think: “I would never do that.” Until you realize how many times we have done something similar. We deny Jesus when we place our desires above His will, when we are ashamed of His name, or when we prefer the approval of people over the presence of God. But Peter's story does not end at the moment of denial.
Jesus knew Peter would deny Him. Even so, He continued to love him. This reveals something profound about grace: Christ does not start loving us after we become faithful. He loves us while we are still being transformed.
Constrained
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”
2 Corinthians 5:14 (NIV)
We preach to others about grace while we are being healed by it daily. We speak about forgiveness while we are being forgiven. We speak about restoration even at the moment we need to be restored. The Gospel is not born from people who have never failed, but from people who have discovered that Christ’s love is greater than their failures.
God’s love is so deep that Paul says it compels us. It is a love that reaches us when we cannot reach ourselves. A love that remains when we are inconsistent. No one will ever love us as He loves us, and nothing will be able to fill the space that only His presence can occupy.
Perhaps you are ashamed to return. Perhaps you think you need to fix yourself before approaching. But you will be transformed when you pour yourself out at His feet. You are reached even when you walk away. You are healed even more when you cannot heal your own wounds.
Let yourself be compelled by the love of God. Allow grace to be greater than the discomfort. And choose to approach Him again.
Fix your eyes
“When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’”
John 21:15 (NIV)
After the resurrection, Jesus did not discard Peter. He went to where Peter was and restored the one who had denied His name. Jesus did not pretend the denial did not happen, but He also did not allow Peter’s failure to define the rest of his story. The same man who had denied Christ would be used to announce the Gospel, to feed His brothers.
When we decide to fix our eyes on Jesus, our story begins to change. Not because we have become more deserving, but because we stop looking at our own capacity and turn our eyes to the One who never abandoned us. When we are not ashamed of His name and do not compromise His presence, God can lead us to greater places.
Not because we have become deserving, but because we have opened the way for Him!
Peter discovered that his greatest strength was not in his own courage, but in the grace of Christ. We also need to learn this. Perhaps you failed yesterday. Perhaps you denied Jesus in some area of your life. Perhaps you are carrying shame, guilt, or regret. But do not turn your mistake into a permanent place of residence.
Return. Approach. Look at Christ again.
Faced with a desire, a temptation, or a difficult choice, do not deny the One who did not deny you, even in the face of the greatest suffering in the world. Jesus remained on the cross when He could have given up. He remained loving when He was rejected. And He continues to extend His hand to us, even today, when we do all these things daily.
Grace is not a license to stay away. It is the invitation to come back home.
by
Rapha Abreu is a journalist and cultural producer, and part of the marketing, writing and content production team at Mr. Rocco.
