Redeeming Grace

Sometimes I wonder who I'd be in the story of Jesus dying on the cross. Would I be Peter and deny Him? Would I be like Judas and betray Him? Would I be part of the crowd shouting, "Crucify Him?" The truth is... yes. A sinner through and through no better than the ones who nailed Him to the cross. I'd do the same. We all would. I reread the crucifixion story and several different things hit me. One of which being the fact that two of Jesus' closest friends betrayed and denied Him. They were part of harming Him rather than helping Him. And Jesus STILL CHOSE them to be His disciples knowing this would be the future of their friendship. While they didn't see the full picture, God used them for His glory, even in their denial and betrayal.

It reminds me that...

1. Our mistakes and failures don't prohibit or hinder God's plan. He already factored in all our short comings. He accounted for it and has full plans to use it for His glory. I think we often believe that our failures have the ability to mess up His plan. We are not that powerful. We are not that mighty. How naive of us to think that we could.

2. When we do fall short and fail, there are two paths we can take. One being to allow the devil to make us sit in our guilt and rob us of life and joy, as Judas did. Or live life, move forward, strive to do better, and trust the forgiveness and redemption of Christ, as Peter did. In Judas' case, he relied on himself. His own saving grace, rather than the Lord's. When we believe we can save ourselves, it leads us to the darkest of places because there is no salvation in us. It is only and solely in Christ and His sacrifice. Peter, on the other hand, felt the conviction of his sin and ran TO the Lord instead of away. He isn't a Father that wants us to run away and hide. He wants us to come to Him in our most vulnerable states and offer it up to Him. Surrender it all. Not running. Not hiding. Confessing. Repenting. And running back to Him. I find it interesting that Judas chose to allow guilt to rob him of the very life that Jesus was about to cover and pay the price for. Even on the other side of the cross today, it can be easy to fall into the trap of guilt. Sitting in the guilt of our sin and wallowing in it only diminishes the true power and glory of Christ's sacrifice. He died for us in our sin so that we could have abundant life, not choose the chains of guilt. Peter, on the other hand, rested in the heart of the Lord. He trusted His grace, kindness, and friendship. And in John 21, we see the Lord redeem and restore Peter. 3 times he denied Christ and Jesus gave him the opportunity to be redeemed by saying three times, how much he loved Christ. The Lord does the same with us. Our shortcomings while they do come with a lot of weight, He carries it for us and already considered it. No matter how bad it may seem.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

-Ephesians 1:7

Let us not forget the depths of His grace and love, especially in our failures and shortcomings. In His kindness and sacrifice, there is forgiveness and grace. An abundance of it. Trust the Lord's redemptive character and desire to restore you from your sin. He doesn't want to leave you there.