Never Say Never

Once upon a time, I was a moralist. Life was black and white. Things were right or wrong. Good people did good things and bad people got what they deserved. Never and always were overused words in my vocabulary.

Then life happened. Things and people I thought were absolutes proved to be variable. Gray found a way into my world and eventually I realized I should never say never.

I was reminded of this lesson again recently as I was reading through Luke 22. In it, Peter tells Jesus that he is ready to follow him anywhere - including to prison or to death. Jesus answers him in verse 34, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

What I really think Jesus was telling Peter, and us is, “Never say never.” 

It’s easy to fool ourselves into thinking that we would have behaved better than Peter in this scenario. After all, he’s one of Jesus’s closest friends and followers. He’s seen the miracles and been a part of them (Don’t forget that he walked on water when Jesus called him - but that is a post for another day). And for goodness sake, he just finished eating the Last Supper with Jesus. One would think all of these first-hand experiences with Jesus would make it easy for Peter to be passionately faithful to Him. 

Instead, just a few hours after this conversation, Jesus’s prediction comes true. Pressured by the crowd, Peter repeatedly - and forcefully - dismisses the accusation that he is one of Jesus’s followers. It turns out that going against the crowd is difficult; more difficult than we, and Peter, like to recognize. 

All these thoughts have prompted me to consider the ways that, when pressured by the crowd, I deny Jesus. Oh sure, I don’t come right out and say it how Peter did! My denial looks different. I keep this ministry of Robin May Ministries to myself instead of sharing it with everyone I meet. I worry more about my physical health than my spiritual health and spend a disproportionate amount of time exercising. I am more worried about sharing shouts with the world on social media than I am whispers with Him in His word.  

I am thankful that Peter’s story didn’t end that fateful night. Peter grieved his sin, repented and accepted forgiveness. It’s an example that I need desperately in my life. How about you? What ways do you find yourself denying Jesus’s authority and forgiveness in your life?