“Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the rooster crowed.” John 18:27
We are often taught that real faith can withstand the tests of life. The stronger the faith the more it can endure. Sometimes we even feel guilty or inadequate when life makes a sudden turn and we feel inadequate and unable to adjust without a lot of struggles.
There is a fine line we walk as followers of Jesus.
On the one hand, we want to give our very best to the work that God entrusts to us. Jesus has invited us in to the most important work in eternity. We certainly don’t want to take that for granted.
But on the other hand, we are not loved by God because of how well we do. The death of Jesus reminds us that we are loved in spite of sometimes doing poorly and failing miserably. Being faithful is not the reason Jesus invests in us. Jesus invests in us because God already loves us.
It is the faithfulness of Jesus that brings us life. Peter denied Jesus three times and felt awful about himself. He had failed to be faithful at a time when it seemed to matter most. But Jesus would come back to him in the resurrection and commission him to be one of the key leaders in the new church. It was not because Peter had proven himself to Jesus – he had not. But Jesus invited him in and offered him a new chance as a sign of grace.
So offer God you very best, whatever that may be. But do so knowing that sometimes your best won’t be good enough – you will fail at some things. Yet don’t worry and be paralyzed by that possibility. God is in the new life business. Each day is a new chance to be faithful and if you fall short, the faithfulness of Jesus will be enough.
