Rejecting Jesus is not something we can feel proud of, yet at times it's exactly what we do. I've had my fair share of rejecting Christ my entire life. I first heard the call to ministry at the age of twenty, but for three years, I ran away from that call. I thought it wasn't a big deal until the Holy Spirit made me realize how I had rejected Christ by rejecting the purpose He had paid dearly with His own life for me to respond to.
Looking at scripture and the sequence that follows Peter's rejection of Christ and the events that follow that, we can learn a thing or two about how we are to find restoration and redemption in the times that we reject Christ ourselves.
Jesus Knows It And Loves You Anyways
Even before Peter rejected Christ, He knew that it would happen. Matthew 26:34 says, "Jesus said to him, 'Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.'" But the interesting thing is even with that in mind, Jesus trusted and loved Peter dearly.
In the same way, Jesus knows that we will make the same decisions the great disciple Peter made because we are just as human and just as errant. Jesus knows that we will reject Him not just once, but maybe even multiple times throughout our lifetime, but even in that He loved you enough to die for you and to give you a hope and a future.
Jesus Has A Plan To Restore You
Not only does Jesus know about our tendency to reject Him, but He has actually made a plan to restore you. I can just imagine Jesus at the cross thinking about how he would approach Peter days later to restore him back to the ministry of "feeding His sheep." The plan is no different for any of us.
Though we may have rejected Jesus by choosing other gods over Him - the god of money, career stability, relationships, comfort, our own desires, or substances - but He has a plan to reach out to you and restore you, and it's a beautiful plan that will run its course and see completion.
We Always Have A Choice To Reverse The Rejection
That moment when Jesus reaffirmed Peter's love for Him three times after being betrayed three times, Peter had a choice: he could either take Judas' route and give up or he could allow Jesus' restorative plan to reach fulfillment and be established back as the rock upon which the church would be built.
The choice is ours at the end of the day to continue to live rejecting Jesus or to turn one hundred and eighty degrees and start walking in His affirmation and security. Following Jesus will never be easy, but to choose otherwise would be to reject Him. Which path would you rather take?
