18th March 2022

First attempt in learning

Again Peter lied and said he did not know Jesus. At once a rooster crowed.
John 18:27 (NLV)

Nobody likes to be associated with the word fail or failure, but we have all failed at some point in our past, maybe even many times. And it is inevitable we will make mistakes in the future.   

Many of us teach our children that ‘FAIL’ is an acronym which stands for First Attempt In Learning. We encourage them to have a go and try new things and we tell them that making mistakes is okay; that’s how we learn. But how do we feel about our own mistakes? Sometimes we can use them as a reason to stop trying. Are we our own harshest critics, or do we forgive ourselves with the same generosity God does?

When reading about the early life of Peter, in the book of John, it doesn’t take long before we come across Peter’s denial of Christ: ‘A servant who was owned by the head religious leader was there. He was of the family of the man whose ear Peter cut off. The man said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Again Peter lied and said he did not know Jesus. At once a rooster crowed.’ (John 18: 26-27). 

To make matters worse, in the book of Luke we read that: ‘The Lord turned and looked at Peter.’ (Luke 22: 61). Instantly Peter knew what he had done, and it devastated him. He had failed. Only a few hours before, he had promised to stand with Christ, even if it meant prison or death! We can only imagine how bad he felt. The Bible says he wept bitterly.

Fortunately Jesus had prophesied that this would happen and had told Peter he would be restored. In other words, this wasn’t the end for Peter. Perhaps when his emotions had a chance to settle, Peter remembered all that Christ had said and was comforted by the thought that he was forgiven.

There is nothing that God can’t forgive if we ask for forgiveness and we are reminded that God remembers our sins no more. It is as if we hadn’t sinned in the first place, and we are free from our past mistakes. The key is to learn from our failures. God starts to change us often through the mistakes we make. We can be confident that while we may fail in life, with God we are never a failure.  

The brutal reality is that our list of failings is endless, but it is also true that God’s gift of forgiveness and redemption is always longer. As Peter learned from his mistakes and embarrassments, so too can we.

Prayer
Our heavenly Father, thank you for the generosity of your continued forgiveness and for loving us completely despite our numerous mistakes and failings. We pray that we will learn the lessons we need to learn so we can be changed to become more like you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Study by Jackie Mill

 

About the writer:
Jackie Mill is a Minister in Grace Communion International and Regional Co-Pastor for Scotland and Ireland. 

Local congregation:
GCI, Edinburgh
Gilmerton New Church
Ravenscroft Street
Edinburgh
EH17 8QJ

Meeting time:
Saturday 11:00am

Local congregational contact:   
Peter Mill
Email: edinburgh@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church