“…Jesus turned and looked right at Peter. Then Peter left and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61)
For three days Peter had sat in the dark, reliving that
moment over and over again. Jesus had
called him “The Rock”, and yet during Jesus’ time of greatest pain, Peter
denied him to His face. Regret, pain,
failure washed over Peter leaving him no relief from the overwhelming guilt he
felt.
Then the door flew open, and two women burst into the room
and with tears of joy announced- “Jesus is alive! An angel told us He has risen, and Mary saw
it for herself!” Hope sprung anew inside Peter, and he ran to the tomb to see
the empty grave clothes lying there. The
proof that Jesus was alive gave him a new hope that filled his empty soul to
believe again.
That is the beautiful message of Easter- all of us have
sinned and fallen short of God’s expectations.
As fallen and imperfect creations, we cannot measure up to God’s
standards. Because God loved us so much,
He became human, lived the perfect life we could not possibly live, and died
the death we deserved for our sins. Only
by believing and following Jesus can we too experience the new life that He has
for us.
Just like Peter, you may be living in regret of past
actions. Your failures may be such a
heavy load on your soul that you think or feel that you will never again experience
peace or joy again.
However, just like Peter, you too can be set free from that regret and guilt to be born again into a new life- one that is full of purpose, hope, and joy.
However, just like Peter, you too can be set free from that regret and guilt to be born again into a new life- one that is full of purpose, hope, and joy.
If have questions or would you’d like help with that, please
contact me at pastorjohnoscar@gmail.com
