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Thoughts for a Woman's Heart |
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encouragement in things that matter |
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The Shame of Peter |
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The crowing rooster shredded Peter’s pride and replaced it with shame. He was so confident, so sure of himself. Just hours earlier he had vehemently vowed that he would follow His Lord to prison or even to death. He loved Jesus! Never would he have imagined hurting Him. Never would he have believed that he could walk away from Him, or worse, refuse to acknowledge the relationship that they shared. Jesus had even warned him. As right as Jesus always was, surely this was the one thing He was wrong about. But it happened. The sound of the rooster was enough, but in that same moment, Peter’s eyes met the knowing eyes of His Lord. And Peter’s heart cried out with the pain of remorse.
Ever been there? Believers can, and do, sin atrociously. We never wanted to. And in even in our not wanting to, we may find ourselves failing still again! We beg God to erase the sin, and we beg God to shut up our being so that we never repeat its horror. We wrap ourselves in our shame, and its pain cripples us – spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. Daughter of God, Peter’s sin did not take God by surprise, and neither does ours. Before Peter ever denied His Lord, Jesus told him there would be a path of forgiveness and healing for him. The forgiveness was taken care of at the cross, and the healing was to come because Jesus said, "Yes, Peter, you are going to deny Me. But, Peter, I am praying for you, and I will bring you to repentance and to restoration. And your sin will not keep you from doing what I have planned for you." Was Peter’s sin wrong? Does his shame echo through centuries of Christianity? Yes! But, did Peter’s sin deform and stunt him in such a way that he was of no more use to God? Did God deny him, and refuse to live in a life-giving, life-transforming relationship with Peter? No!
Peter’s shame though is fully confronted at breakfast. After a meal of charbroiled fish and bread, the resurrected Jesus rehearses the direction He has for Peter, and allows him to affirm three times his love for his Lord. I believe it was then that whatever shadows of shame were still menacing him, those shadows were dispelled. His shame was gone, but it was not forgotten. The first of his recorded letters in Scripture is a powerful commentary on the grace of God, as was his life. Shame may tell us something was very, very wrong, but God never intended for it to cripple us. You haven’t surprised God, and He has a job for you to do.
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— Bev |
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Readers are invited to respond to Bev by contacting her at WomansHeart@BethanyBibleFellowship.org. We are sorry that she cannot personally answer your emails, but she will try to address your questions and concerns in future articles. |
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