DECEMBER 23 THE JOY OF FORGIVENESS By Brian Baker Vice President of Bible Institutes, Word of Life Fellowship
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10)
Christmas is a great time to celebrate the joy of knowing Jesus as Savior. Part of this joy is experiencing His forgiveness. Peter’s life is an excellent example of what this forgiveness looks like. Only hours after telling Jesus he would die for Him, Peter denied Jesus three times. Fast forward to John 21 (after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ), when Peter decided to return to fishing. He and some other disciples fished all night with no success. Jesus showed up on shore the next morning and asked if they caught anything, then He instructed them to cast their net on the other side of the boat. Because they caught so many fish, they had difficulty bringing up the net. If this story sounds familiar, it is because a similar interaction happened in Luke 5 when Jesus called Peter to follow Him. Please notice the difference between Peter’s responses to encountering Jesus in Luke 5 and John 21.
“But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’” (Luke 5:8)
“When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.” (John 21:7b)
In Luke 5, the holiness of Jesus caused Peter to feel unworthy to be in His presence. In John 21, Peter had experienced forgiveness and was living in the understanding that he was forgiven – even from the sin of denying Jesus. As a result, he wanted to rush into the presence of Jesus. Christ came to earth to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). His forgiveness is life changing. During this special season, never forget how His forgiveness has changed you.
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