—John 21:12
Have you made a mistake in the past that continues to stand out as a painful memory? Does that event continue to define you? What does God think of your past offenses?
Peter failed miserably by denying that he even knew his friend Jesus. The event was marked by a rooster crowing, Jesus looking at Peter, and Peter weeping bitter tears of remorse (Luke 22:60-62).
Now Peter and Jesus meet again. How will Jesus treat someone who abandoned him in his darkest hour? Will Jesus be angry and want to punish Peter? Does Jesus ignore him? No. As the disciples are fishing, they see Jesus on the shore. He calls to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answer. He says, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” Jesus has not given up on them. Jesus remains faithful and blesses them with a miraculous catch of fish.
Then Jesus invites them to “come and have breakfast,” a warm gesture of friendship and hospitality.
Next comes the crucial part of the story: Jesus addresses Peter’s denial by asking him three times, “Do you love me?” Jesus does not ignore the past; he addresses it. And the denials are canceled out by Peter’s new statements of love for Jesus.
Regardless of what you have done in your past, Jesus calls you to come and follow him too. Will you come, so you too can be forgiven?
Jesus, I want to come. Accept and love me, I pray. In your name, Amen.
About the author — John Kuperus
Since he was young, John Kuperus has had a passion that everyone would know Jesus. Spreading the good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) is very important to him. To be better equipped for missions, John attended Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He applied these skills with marketplace evangelism in a business he started in Sussex, New Jersey. This calling continued to follow him, so John attended seminary and became a minister in the Christian Reformed Church, serving a church in Ontario for eight years. Currently he serves as a missionary for Youth with a Mission (YWAM). He witnesses Jesus changing lives as people walk out of the darkness into the light. John is married to Helen, and they have seven children.
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