Christian Devotional – January 12, 2017

Peter had purpose. He was one if the disciples who had been in Jesus’s inner circle. Peter had made the great confession about who Jesus was and Peter had always been the outspoken leader of the group. However, he was also the one who denied Jesus 3 times on the night he was crucified. Not exactly something he would have liked to add to his resume.

We all mess up. We all have moments when we fail to meet the purpose that God has for us. We miss out on the blessings of God, but that doesn’t mean we are through or that God is through with us. Read John chapter 21.

There in John 21:15-17 we find a very interesting and very personal exchange between Jesus and Peter. Peter feels that he’s messed up too badly and he has no idea what he should be doing with his life, so he’s gone back to the only life that he ever knew, fishing. Jesus goes and seeks him out and finds him and asks him, not about denying Him or about would Peter die for Jesus or anything like that. Jesus simply asks Peter if he loves Him.

When we fail and miss our purpose, God is not shocked or taken off guard. He knows who He is working with and He knows that we are going to mess up from time to time. Still when He comes back to us, He asks us one question. Do we love Him? He may ask us that several times so we can get it into our head, but the question remains that loving Him is the one area that will lead us into following His purpose for our lives. As we love Him, we will do whatever He asks us to do. We will be obedient to His purpose in our lives and we will be demonstrating our love for Him on a daily basis. Jesus’s question to Peter is still the same one that He is asking us today. Do we love Him? Will we do what He asks?