25Meanwhile, Simon Peter was back at the fire, still trying to get warm. The others there said to him, "Aren't you one of his disciples?"
He denied it, "Not me."
26One of the Chief Priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Didn't I see you in the garden with him?"
27Again, Peter denied it. Just then a rooster crowed.
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Perhaps this is one of the most hopeful passages in the Bible. Why? Peter doesn't appear again until John 20:2, when Mary tells him the stone has been rolled away. Peter rushes to the garden and goes into the tomb, finding nothing but the cloths that had wrapped the body of Christ. From a place of denial Peter is one of the first to see the empty tomb.
This passage gives me hope because there are too many times in my life when I have denied Christ, through words or actions. I have sought after worldly things and turned my back on Godly things. I have failed to study or pray, failed to grow and challenge myself. Yet there is hope for me. Even though Peter turned his back on Christ, just as all of humanity turned against Christ, just as I have turned from Christ, Christ never turns His back on us. Christ doesn't give up on us, release us from His loving arms, or allow us to wallow in despair or darkness. Christ is with us, Christ seeks us, loves us, pursues us and treasures us. Christ gives us second, third and fourth chances, and when we fail at those, Christ still is with us, holding our heads up so we can see the light. Even when we fail gloriously like Peter, there is still hope for us as disciples of the Risen Lord.
Blessings
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