John 13:31-38

John 13:31-38
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 

 It sounds so good for Peter:  I would die for you!  He probably means it when he says it, too.  He loves Jesus and has followed him everywhere for the past three years.  He will do whatever... but when the time comes for him to be tested, we know how the story goes -- he falters.  He means well when he says it, but he just doesn't have the strength to follow through.
  In the same way, we mean well when we make intentions and promises to God to grow in discipleship.  We mean well when we say it.  We want it to be true.  But when the time comes to step up and do it, we often find excuses, or we duck.  Sometimes there are things that come up, but other times we just find things to distract us.  It's hard to be faithful in a distracting world.
  And so there is a balance.  Where our sin leads us to falter, there is grace.  There is the unconditional love of God that promises to forgive us even as we fall short, even as we often deny Christ through our words and deeds.  God knows us and loves us just the same.
  At the same time, we are continuously called into the deeper waters of discipleship, called to have a looser hold on the things of this world and a stronger hold on Christ.  We are called to re-commit ourselves daily to Christ, no matter how challenging it may be.  We do this not out of guilt, but out of gratitude.