Unexpected

Jesus came to us and did the unexpected. We are often conditioned to believe that God wants us to pay for our mistakes. When Peter felt the weight of his guilt from denying Jesus, he returned to what was familiar to him, to what gave him comfort: fishing. But Jesus comes to him with kindness, not with a heart of condemnation. Jesus puts His love on display, restores Peter’s identity, and empowers him with purpose. At the cross, Jesus took on our guilt, sin, and messiness – He got what we deserved – and offers to cleanse us and to give us rest. In our greatest moments of failure, Jesus longs to display His love by restoring our identity, bringing us into God’s presence, and empowering us with purpose.