After the Restoration: The Invitation

Question Number One:
What does Jesus do with a man who has failed?

I am deeply and personally invested in the answer to this question as a man who failed Jesus, his own family, and the church, and then lived as one whose future had been derailed. I was convinced that I was no longer worthy of the grace I had once been shown. I returned to the old familiar things: my old job, my old pursuits, my old interests, my old relationships. And this is exactly why the story of Peter’s tragic failure during the trials of Jesus resonates so intensely and passionately within me.

Peter boasted that he would never deny Jesus regardless of circumstance or cost. And yet, hours later around a charcoal fire, he denied Him not once, not twice, but three times, the last with curses to give his oath more credibility and to save his own skin. Then that rooster crowed. I certainly remember that moment in my life: the sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach, the aching in my chest, and weeping bitterly because of my own actions. Then I did what Peter had done. I went back to where it had all begun in the first place.

But, again like Peter, Jesus found me and brought me back to the charcoal fire, the place of my greatest failure. And there He patiently and kindly asked me, “Larry, do you love me?” It took a few minutes, and it was necessary for Him to repeat the inquiry, but eventually I cried out through my tears, “Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.” And that is when it all began to change.

It did not happen overnight, but calmly and quietly the Holy Spirit led me to understand that if I confessed my sin, God was not only eager to forgive me, but to cleanse me from all the filth sin had caused. “Whiter than snow,” He said, and I was able to believe Him finally, and to accept Him at His word. This is what I learned from Peter’s life and recognized as my own story. What does Jesus do with a man who has failed? He restores the broken, repentant soul to sweet communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Question Number Two:
What does Jesus do with a man He has forgiven?

We love restoration and forgiveness because they bring great relief into our lives. We discover in this process that our identities are not mired in our past failures – none of them. We learn that our destinies will not be determined by our broken promises and dark chapters of our lives. We love the beach, the fire, the breakfast, and the grace.

However, Jesus does not restore us so that we can be restored, but to offer an immediate invitation to move us forward. The answer to that second question, then, is both exhilarating and troublesome. It is thrilling to be given this tremendous opportunity to walk into a brand-spanking new future! All that is left for us to do is shout, “Yes Lord,” and get on with it. The problem we run headlong into is that while we know we need forgiveness and cleansing, we are unsure we are ready for this next step.

We begin to entertain the notion that we need to become a future version of ourselves before we will be adequately prepared for obedience to Christ.
A version that is more disciplined, certainly.
A version that has conquered an embarrassing habit that has gone on too long.
A version that has achieved total victory over addiction.
A version that is healthy enough to stop sabotaging relationships with loved ones.
A version that has enough faith, enough knowledge, enough consistency, and enough spiritual maturity.
We say in our hearts that once this new person emerges, then we will be qualified to really dig in and get to the business of obeying Jesus in the right way. Then we will be ready to surrender, trust, and follow.

Then, but not now.

When Jesus called Peter the first time, he was not ready. Matthew was not ready. John and James were not ready. Bartholomew was not ready. NONE of the disciples that Jesus called to follow Him were ready. When Jesus called Peter the second time on the beach, do you know what? He still wasn’t ready! Jesus is not going to wait for you to become qualified. He calls you to follow Him now and promises your transformation along the way.

The Transformation Invitation:
Follow Me

Discipleship is not a self-improvement project with Bible verses attached to it. Jesus did not come to upgrade you to version 2.0. He came to bury you and teach you to live a new life, the Kingdom life. He calls you to think in new ways, Kingdom ways. The invitation is not, nor has it ever been, “Improve yourself and join the team.” It has always been, “Follow me.”

Paul understood this ideal and expressed it vividly telling his readers to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. Consider the genuine meaning of this valuable word: transformation. It is translated into English from the Greek word “metamorphoo” from which we derive the concept of metamorphosis. Metamorphosis describes the stunning and mysterious natural conversion of a caterpillar somehow becoming a butterfly, a completely distinct species of creature from a caterpillar.

There is nothing about the life or purpose of a caterpillar that is in any way similar to the life and purpose of a butterfly. It is a switch at the DNA level. The caterpillar becomes a new creation. Paul is demonstrating that, in Christ, we are something we were not before He came into our lives. When we follow Him, our old lives die off and everything about us is remade into the holy image He intended for us all along. The way we think, talk, and behave are converted. Our desires, our ambitions, and even our inclinations are affected at the DNA level.

The invitation to live as new creations in the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ is for right here and right now. No more delay. No more debate. It is time to deliver a hearty and heart-felt “Yes, Lord,” and begin this new discipleship life. The first step we must take is, according to the words of Jesus, “Let him deny himself.” The next article, After The Restoration: Step One, will get us started.

Important Scripture References
Luke 22:33-34
John 18:15-18, 25-27
Matthew 26:69-75
John 21:1-17
1 John 1:9
Isaiah 1:18
Psalm 51:7
John 21:19
Romans 12:2
2 Corinthians 5:17
Galatians 6:15
Luke 8:1; 17:20-21
Matthew 16:24
Mark 8:34
Luke 9:23