Imagine the feeling of betraying your best friend – not just
once but three times, and then realising that it had all been predicted (John
13:38) when you had just declared your undying affection! Then, as if to
compound your feelings of guilt, your friend dies before you have the
opportunity to seek forgiveness. We can
only guess at Peter’s state of mind – his total desolation, his cry of anguish.
“What have I done?” With the benefit of hindsight we know that this is not the
end, yet it must have seemed so to Peter.
I suspect that all of us, in some way, experience betrayal
or perhaps remember times when we ourselves have betrayed a friend. It seemed
quite harmless, it was ‘only’ a choice piece of gossip, but we allowed
ourselves to quietly assassinate a friend’s character. It might even be that we
have experienced betrayal within our own marriage or even been the one who
betrayed a loved one. When we look at
how it all turns out for Peter we realise yet again how the big picture takes
time to be revealed. Only our heavenly Father knows what the future holds.
Further on in John’s gospel we learn that Peter is reinstated and his betrayal
forgiven. For the Christian, guilt is not meant to burden us for life: it is
there to point us towards seeking forgiveness, from God first, and then from
any that we have offended. After all, every time we sin we betray our
relationship with God, yet he offers us forgiveness again and again through the
sacrifice that Jesus made.
Response
Father, teach us how
to forgive as you forgive us. Help us to release those who have betrayed us and
set us free from all that prevents us from living life to the full by accepting
the grace and peace that Jesus offers.
Peter
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