Our lesson Sunday centered on the restoration of Peter. Peter, you might remember, denied knowing Christ 3 times shortly after he claimed he would die for him and then attacked the servant of the High Priest during Christ’s arrest in the garden. (Not sure if this was an act of bravery or madness.)

It’s interesting to note that one of his denials came on the heels of an accusation brought by a servant girl. She was probably very young and a low level servant or she wouldn’t have been where she was. Peter probably could have just ignored her and no one would have paid attention. But he made a scene and denied knowing Christ.

As we discussed this in class we determined that most of us had denied Christ through our words, thoughts and actions on more than one occasion. And that all of us needed the same restoration and grace that Peter received from Christ.

Despite his denials, however, we find him lovingly restored in John 21. Peter seemed to be a bit “put out” that Christ asked him three times if he loved him. He didn’t really seem to grasp the importance of the repetition or remember that he had denied Christ three times during his trials. (Imagine being “put out” as God is pouring his grace into our lives.) But he did seem to understand Christ’s directive to minister to the “flock” because in 1 Peter 5 we find him only doing so himself but instructing others about “feeding sheep” and leading them. These moments with Christ were not wasted.

I’m reminded of something I heard Rick Warren say in one of his teachings from The Purpose Driven Life. He said God will not waste anything that has happened in your life. He will use the good, bad and the ugly if we allow him to bring his grace and restoration into our lives.

Peter could have chosen to remove himself and allow the guilt to control his life but he didn’t. (Again back to John 21). When he saw Christ on the beach, he jumped out of the boat and ran to Christ (he already done that before, remember?).

What a great lesson for us. Even when we have denied Christ through our thoughts, words or deeds, we need to run TO him and not FROM him. His grace will always be sufficient in those times.