It’s Thursday, March 9^th!
Four days into my 55^th year of life and I am still kicking it pretty good!
Do you remember one of the earliest accounts of the first Easter morning?
A couple of Mary’s and Salome came to the tomb where Jesus was buried. Seeing the stone had been rolled away, the women entered the empty tomb, only to see an angel sitting there. The angel told them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16: 6-7)
In these verses lie the most powerful two words in all of scripture.
Do you immediately recognize the two I am talking about?
How are you at giving people a “second chance?”
How about giving a fifth, fortieth, or ninetieth chance to someone?
More than likely, we have been conditioned by the old adage: “Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!
No one likes to be fooled. No one likes to be considered a fool.
And yet… read the above verses once again…
This gem is found in verse 7…
Once you discover it, it’s like finding the toy in a box of cracker jacks, or finding a twenty dollar bill stuff in the pocket of an old pair of jeans you just happened to put on for the day.
Listen to what the angel says, “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
Did you catch it?
Let me spell it out, just in case you missed it…
“But go, tell his disciples AND PETER that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
Did you see it that time?
“And Peter”
Remember how Peter denied Jesus three times?
Remember how much Peter messed up when Jesus needed him and his support the most?
The angel is this most wonderful messenger from the throne of God saying, imploring, shouting, “Go tell the disciples”, long pause, extra long pause, super extra long pause, “and Peter”, make sure you tell Peter he is still on the team, make sure you let Peter know that God still loves him, treasures him, cherishes him and wants him to play on the team.
And oh, what Peter did with his second chance!!
Wrote two books of the New Testament!
Preached on Pentecost Sunday where 3,000 people were saved in one day.
The list goes on and on!
Peter is eventually crucified upside down, because he did not consider himself worthy of being crucified right side up like Jesus was…
It’s not everyday someone gives you a second chance, much less someone who gives you a second chance every day.
In Jesus, Peter found both!
You can too…
May we be a people who offer the same second chance to others as Jesus did with Peter…
But, go tell his disciples… And Peter…
Grace and peace,
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!