Jump to Jesus—Two2Grow, Tuesday, October 20
Jump to Jesus!—Two2Grow, Tuesday, October 20
“Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.” John 21:7 NIV
By Emelie Stenhammar, MD
Oh, how we love Jesus! And boy, do we want to live faithfully to him. But the sad thing is that sometimes we don’t. What we do when we find ourselves remorseful over the bad choices we made, the people we hurt, or the trust we have broken really matters.
Both Judas and Peter let Jesus down in a terrible way. Judas betrayed Jesus, and Peter denied him. Both realized that they had sinned gravely, and both regretted what they had done. Judas threw the thirty silver coins into the temple, and Peter wept bitterly. Two disciples of Jesus, two moral failures, two regrets, but it is what happens next that separates them. Judas ran away from God—as far as he could go. Driven by shame and self-hatred, he went and hanged himself.
Peter, on the other hand, ran to Jesus. As we read in today’s verse, he didn’t wait for the boat to reach the shore. He didn’t even climb down into the water—he jumped! There is an urgency and a determination: I need to get to Jesus! I need to get things right in my relationship with him!
Peter was restored. Peter became a pillar in the early church. Peter wrote letters that are part of the Bible.
What we do when we fall makes all the difference. If we humbly turn to Jesus, trust that he will receive us (and he will), confess our sins, repent, and allow him to cleanse us in his blood, he will—and he will also restore us. To run to Jesus is life and the beginning of restoration. To run from him is death.
Jesus, I have sinned. I feel ashamed. I regret that I… But I run to you. I trust your mercy. Forgive me. Cleanse me. Restore my relationship with you and with the people I have hurt.
By Emelie Stenhammar, MD
Oh, how we love Jesus! And boy, do we want to live faithfully to him. But the sad thing is that sometimes we don’t. What we do when we find ourselves remorseful over the bad choices we made, the people we hurt, or the trust we have broken really matters.
Both Judas and Peter let Jesus down in a terrible way. Judas betrayed Jesus, and Peter denied him. Both realized that they had sinned gravely, and both regretted what they had done. Judas threw the thirty silver coins into the temple, and Peter wept bitterly. Two disciples of Jesus, two moral failures, two regrets, but it is what happens next that separates them. Judas ran away from God—as far as he could go. Driven by shame and self-hatred, he went and hanged himself.
Peter, on the other hand, ran to Jesus. As we read in today’s verse, he didn’t wait for the boat to reach the shore. He didn’t even climb down into the water—he jumped! There is an urgency and a determination: I need to get to Jesus! I need to get things right in my relationship with him!
Peter was restored. Peter became a pillar in the early church. Peter wrote letters that are part of the Bible.
What we do when we fall makes all the difference. If we humbly turn to Jesus, trust that he will receive us (and he will), confess our sins, repent, and allow him to cleanse us in his blood, he will—and he will also restore us. To run to Jesus is life and the beginning of restoration. To run from him is death.
Jesus, I have sinned. I feel ashamed. I regret that I… But I run to you. I trust your mercy. Forgive me. Cleanse me. Restore my relationship with you and with the people I have hurt.