All Things NewSample

The Follow-up to Failure

Failure. Flop. Disappointment. Loser. Any of these words could have been ones Peter used for himself following the night Jesus died. Sure, Jesus had risen and commissioned them to service, but it was still there. He denied Jesus. Had he really blown it that bad?

It’s no surprise that Peter decides to go back to fishing. Ministry? There’s no way I can really be a part of it. I'm a fisherman- I fish. His friends follow him to the boat that night. All night the nets go in and out. All night the boat sways, the ropes dig into hands that have grown unaccustomed to them over three years of following Jesus, and nothing is caught.

Failure. Flop. Disappointment. Loser. Can't even fish anymore. Not only did I fail Jesus, but I forgot how to fish. Ever been there? I imagine Peter was feeling pretty low when the call came from the shore. "Try the other side."

I wonder if it was whimsy, desperation or both which caused the men to listen to the stranger on the beach. Nets begin to sink into the water on the right side of the boat. Within moments the boat begins to lean with the weight of fish. Within seconds John and Peter flash back to the first time they listened to a man tell them to cast to the other side. John cries out for Jesus, but Peter is already diving in the water.

In the moments that follow, Jesus addresses Peter's failures and calls them what they are: irrelevant. Do you love me? Feed my lambs. Do you love me? Tend my sheep. Do you love me? Feed my sheep.

Like Peter we were all called to love, follow, and serve Jesus. Like Peter we have all failed. Most incredibly, just like Peter, our failure does not, cannot, and will never negate the call of Christ in our lives. Jesus communicated that he still loved Peter, still called Peter, and was still making Peter new.

Reading: John 21:3-23

Reflection:

· Every person who follows Jesus has been given gifts and a call to ministry. What has God called you to do?

· What failures in your life make you believe you are less able to serve?

· What do the failures of Peter and the way Jesus restores him say about you?