by Jonathan Keller
You’ve just abandoned your best friend. You ran and hid when the police came to arrest them. At their court hearing, you weren’t there to speak against the court’s lies. As you saw him march toward his sentence, all you did was feel sorry about the situation while your friend went off to their undeserved punishment.
That’s the story of Simon Peter, one of the men whom Jesus picked to lead His church after He left the earth. One of the first to confess Christ ran like a coward in His moment of apparent need. And just a couple days later, the Man he betrayed is back. In John 21, Jesus and Peter share a brief moment exchange where Peter reassures Jesus of his love for his Lord, and Jesus assigns to Peter his task to care for the Lord’s flock on earth.
What great is this, that the Lord of heaven would use those who left Him to lead His people? Normally, this is terrible advice, but God is able, by His Spirit, to form people into even apostles, much less ordinary Christians.
To me, this is a simple reminder that, to God, we are never too far gone if we have but a tiny bit of faith. That morsel can become an ocean through which God rejuvenates our lives, even re-rejuvenates them should we follow and walk away from Him for a time. Whether raised in the church or former pastors even, God says that we are not too far gone if we are His people.
There is a warning for us, though. If God did not spare even His own sinless Son from suffering to teach Him obedience on this earth, why should we expect to be spared discipline for our wayward behavior? While He may give us opportunities in His kingdom after we were “too far gone,” we ought not to besmirch Him when He impedes our desires to serve Him in certain capacities or when He gives us some of the just desserts for our disobedience. This is a poignant reminder to me that the Lord never gives us license for rebellion despite His fathomless grace to restore us; He will not spare the rod that will form us after the image of His Son.
Have you ever thought yourself too far gone, even for God? What would it mean for you to approach Him with open arms to hear that He can forgive you?