SONRISE IN THE AFTERMATH

Judas and Peter were both disciples of Jesus, following Him through thick and thin. Yet as they sat at the table with Christ, Judas had already accepted money to betray Jesus into the hands of the chief priests and scribes, and Peter was blinded by his pride, refusing to heed the warning given to him. Both would fail Jesus miserably, but each of them would respond in a different way, showing us the right and wrong way to deal with failure in our Christian walk.

After the excitement of gaining thirty pieces of silver wore off, Judas came to his senses and realized the horrible mistake he had made. In an attempt to rectify his error, Judas goes to the chief priests to give back the money. When that did not work, the guilt of his sin was so unbearable that Judas could not live with himself. If only Judas had thrown himself at the feet of Jesus, he could have experienced Christ’s love, mercy, and forgiveness.

Peter had told Jesus that no matter what trials would face them, he would stand by the Savior’s side even if it cost his life. But when the time of suffering came, Peter did his best to blend in with the crowd. When people began to ask if he had been with Jesus, Peter denied using strong curse words in an effort to further distance himself from the man he swore he would stand by until the end. However, as the rooster made its calls, Peter realized the error of his ways. After Christ rose from the dead, Peter humbled himself before Jesus again. Out of Peter’s fully surrendered heart, Jesus would use Peter to build His church.

Many of us today have failed trying to follow Christ, and those who have not will most likely find themselves in a similar situation down the road. In those moments it is important to remember that Jesus loves us, and that His grace is sufficient for all our sins. The magnitude of our mistake cannot out match the power of His blood. The pains of failure can be replaced with the warmth of peace and the brightness of joy, all we have to do is humble ourselves before Jesus. By surrendering our hearts, we allow Christ to grow something beautiful from the ashes of our past.

Lamentations 3:19-24 (MSG) I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of the ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed. I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—the feeling of hitting the bottom. But there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left.