Desperate. They find the tomb empty..

Suddenly angels appear and remind the women of the words Jesus had said about his death and resurrection. The women run to tell the eleven, but the disciples didn’t believe them.

But Peter.

Peter rose and ran to the tomb. (Luke 24)

Why Peter?

We know from other parts of the Bible that Peter was the impetuous one. Peter had jumped out of the boat to try to walk on water, he talked when he should have been listening at the transfiguration, and he was likely the one took matters in his own hands and cut off the ear of the soldier coming to arrest Jesus.

But, in this moment, it was probably much more than Peter’s impetuous nature that compelled him to run to that tomb.

Peter had blown it.

He had denied his friend, his Lord, the One He knew to be the Son of God, three times before the rooster had crowed.

Just like Jesus told him he would.

Jesus had told Peter he would blow it.

Pastor Matt Chandler spoke at the Passion Conference a couple of years ago to thousands of college kids. He shared that, as his oldest son became a teenager, he had a dinner and invited adults, close to his son, to give him words of encouragement and wisdom.

Then Matt stood up, after all the charges and challenges, all the reminders that his son had a call on his life as a Christian, and Matt said this, “You are going to blow it. You are going to mess up. And we are going to still be here for you when you do.”

And it struck me that this is perhaps why Peter ran to find Jesus.

How Peter must have desperately needed to know that Jesus still loved him and would still be there even after he had blown it.

How we desperately need to know that. How our kids need to know that.

We need to know that we can always run away from sin and back to Jesus (Joel 2:13). Our kids need to hear us say that.

It doesn’t mean we are saying sin isn’t sin.

It is.
It is something we should run from.

But it is also true as long as we have breath in our lungs we can run back to Jesus.

No
matter
what
we’ve
done.

His grace is THAT deep.

His love is that everlasting.

And no one has out-sinned God’s ability to forgive and restore when we turn from our sin and run back to Him.

Peter was desperate.
He ran.

Oh friend, aren’t you thankful that we, too, after we’ve blown it (and we will) can run back to our gracious, merciful, most loving Lord?

Let’s remember that, let’s run to Him in that, and let’s tell others that. Let’s love like that.

What a Savior!

readluke

ReadTheWord

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