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The Beauty of a Do-Over

"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 21:17

Normally whenever I have to ask my children a question more than once, it's because I didn't believe their first answer!  For instance,

"Savannah/Camron, did you clean your room?" 

"Yes, Mama."

"Are you sure you cleaned all of your room?"

"Yes, Mama." 

"Did you clean it the way Mama and Daddy would clean it?"

"Ummm . . . let me go check again!"

I'm not sure if such dialogue is common in your house, but repetitive questioning seems to take place quite frequently in ours!  There's just something about asking a question multiple times that really makes the person stop and determine whether or not they're answering truthfully.

I guess I like this strategy because Jesus was known to have used it.  The most memorable time Jesus used this approach was with Peter.  I told you last week that although Peter took a spiritual fall whenever he denied Jesus prior to the crucifixion, he wasn't going to stay down, but rather he was going to get back up and he would get a "do-over."

Jesus employed this repetitive questioning strategy with Peter by asking him three times if he loved Him.  Now, Jesus possessed the knowledge of God, so He knew exactly what the quantity and quality of Peter's love towards Him was.  My non-scholarly opinion of why Jesus asked Peter this question three times has to do with Peter's previous transgression.

You see, Peter's denial of Jesus occurred three distinct and documented times, just as Jesus had predicted.  I almost think that Jesus asked each question about whether or not Peter loved him in a way to cancel out each of the denials that Peter had spoken.  I think He wanted Peter to hear himself audibly affirming his love for Christ, just as he heard himself very vocally deny Him.

Peter had a calling placed on his life earlier in the Gospel accounts when Jesus said to Peter:

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hades will not overcome it."  Matt. 16:18

I'm pretty sure that after Peter's denial of Christ, the thought had to run through his head as to whether or not his calling was out the window!  Thankfully, we're talking about the beautiful grace of Jesus.  We're talking about the God-Man who asked forgiveness for his very own assaulters while He was hanging on the cross.  We're talking about the personification of forgiveness and grace:  Jesus.

Well, Peter could rest assured that his calling was still intact whenever Jesus essentially re-commissioned him to build the church.  Following each "Do you love me?" question, Jesus replied with either:

"Feed my lambs.",

"Take care of my sheep.", and

""Feed my sheep.".

He had to have breathed a sigh of relief and realized that Jesus still had a plan for his life, despite his failures.  He had to now know that Christ saw a hope and a future for him that wasn't overshadowed by his past.

One thing I want everyone to see from Peter's story is that he was not defined by his sins, but rather, God wanted to use him in spite of his sins.   God has a calling on each of our lives and He intends to see it played out.  We can't let the sins of our past keep us from doing anything good for Him in the future.

If you're allowing past failures to stand in your way of serving the Lord today, make today the day that you follow in Peter's footsteps. 

Let your outspoken love for Jesus cancel out the whispers of guilt that you feel for sins that you've already been forgiven for. 

Let today be the day that you recommit to the calling that God has placed on your life.

Thank Him now for the forgiveness of sin and for the beauty of a "do-over." 

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