We all know the account. Peter had sworn that he would NEVER leave Jesus, no matter what happened. And yet when things heated up, Peter threw Jesus under the bus, and he was out of there, denying that he even knew Jesus. Most of us see and understand this as a great story that shows Peter’s sin, Peter’s repentance, Jesus’ forgiveness, and Peter’s restoration. It is all of those things, but what we often miss is that most of us are part of the story. When I was younger, I traveled a lot in my work career. I was continually flying around the world, visiting customers, and trying to sell the wares of my drilling supply company. It was easy to be faithful in secret, but often my travels took me to customers who I knew would ridicule my faith in Jesus. Of course, I was always thinking that it might have resulted in losing business. I was very careful around the customers, never mentioning Jesus or my Christian faith at all. It was a form of denying Jesus. 

When some of them would learn of my faith, I heard comments such as, “Religion is good, but one must be very careful not to ever be fanatical about what one believes.” I might have nodded in assent, virtue signaling the listener and responding with something like, “yeah, being fanatical can never be a good thing.” It was my way of saying, like Peter, “Oh no, I’m not one of them. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I never remember sharing the gospel with any of those customers. I succumbed to their quiet intimidation. Reader, if you are honest, I would imagine there have been times when you, too, answered in a “safe” way. You might not have denied knowing Him, but you certainly didn’t mention that He had saved you from sin and self. Every time we’ve done these things, we are right there with Peter denying Jesus. That horrible night, Peter went out and wept bitterly. He was sorrowful and regretful for his sin. Have we done the same?

After the resurrection, Jesus purposefully found Peter and asked him three times, “Do you love me?” He was giving Peter an equal number of opportunities to pledge his fealty and faithfulness, acknowledging Him openly, moving forward. He gives each of us the same chance because when we come to Him, admitting our sin and wrongdoing, John tells us, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Reader, if you have been beating around the bush and hiding your light under a bushel basket, commit today to stop doing so. Come to Him and agree with Him that you’ve been hiding out like Peter did, denying Him and the power of the gospel. You might have denied that you were ever even with Him or that you didn’t even know Him. Confess it. Get right with Him, and you will experience total restoration. You will once again become an effective tool in the Kingdom of God. It’s the only way to live!