One of the serving maids sitting at the fire noticed him, then took a second look and said, “This man was with him!”He denied it, “Woman, I don’t even know him.” A short time later, someone else noticed him and said, “You’re one of them.” But Peter denied it: “Man, I am not.” About an hour later, someone else spoke up, really adamant: “He’s got to have been with him! He’s got ‘Galilean’ written all over him. Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” At that very moment, the last word hardly off his lips, a rooster crowed. Just then, the Master turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered what the Master had said to him: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” He went out and cried and cried and cried.
I wonder if there is anything in your life that when you see, hear, smell or touch it reminds you of some past failure or hurt? For me its a smell of a certain perfume. Whenever the sent is released so are many memories of pain and hurt.
For Peter it was the sounds of the Cockerel announcing a fresh start, a new beginning of another day. But Peter could not hear that, all Peter heard was his own failure.
Later on Jesus restores Peter and shows him forgiveness, but i wonder what Peter’s response was to hearing that sound again after knowing the grace that Jesus showed him?
I think that there are two ways of dealing with our past failures, one, we can wallow in the pain and beat ourselves up, or two we can see them from the other side as moments that announce a turning point in who we are.
The difference, i believe is God’s forgiveness….
This week take some time to think through those past hurts, ask God to forgive you and give you the power to forgive those who hurt you, then go back and find the thing that reminds you of it, but this time embrace it as a sign of God’s new beginning.
Grace and Peace
BenNorton 