Say “Yes” to What Matters

Peter sat in grief and darkness. He had publicly denied knowing Jesus just before Jesus was crucified. And for a couple of days, Peter had to process his guilt without expecting it to go away. But on the third day, Jesus’ tomb was found empty and the stone rolled away. 

Not long afterward though, Peter was out in a boat with several other disciples doing what he was trained to do before he met Jesus: fishing. 

It’s as he’s doing this that Jesus appears. But instead of letting Peter continue to live with the shame of his past, Jesus pulls him aside and asks him a question that propels Peter into his purpose: 

“Do you love me?”

Three times Jesus asks Peter this—one for each time Peter denied him. This wasn’t a passive-aggressive question: Jesus was inviting Peter to reaffirm the relationship he’d previously denied. 

Every time Peter responds with, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you,” Jesus re-commissions Peter by calling him into the role of church ...