"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’” (John 21:17).
Discipleship is not giving something for nothing; discipleship is giving nothing for something! Peter had nothing to give Jesus except his failure. Jesus took it, forgave it, and said, “Feed My sheep’ (v. 17). When you have just made a total idiot of yourself in front of your friends, your enemies, and, indeed, the whole world, how incredible to hear Jesus commission you to serve Him again!
Peter had served Jesus for three years. In his opinion, he had been giving Him something for nothing. Hadn’t he given Jesus the benefit of his strong body and personality, his time, his energy, his enthusiasm? And all for nothing, Peter must have thought proudly to himself. He had not charged Jesus for his service, or demanded special rooms or treatment when they traveled together.
But after the Cross, Peter was a broken man. He had denied his Lord, and had followed Him afar off. He came to realize discipleship is not giving something for nothing; discipleship is giving nothing for something!
Jesus loves us when we fail. We come to the end of our fleshly effort to be something or to do something and lay our nothings in His hand, and He gives them back to us, dressed in something new. He gives us hope for the future, a job to do for Him, a sense of being needed after all, His power to overcome, and a great sense of worth. Now that’s something!
Thank You, Jesus!
PRAYER
Lord, forgive me for the times when I foolishly imagine I have something to bring to You. I have failed and come up short in so many of the things I have tried to do. Thank You for the example of Peter – that we will fail, but You are always there to lovingly pick us up and send us in a new direction. Amen.
