Devotion, March 11, 2016

[Jesus said,] “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God (Luke 12:8-9).

            A stern warning! Trouble for Peter the great denier and for us, too. We might not be as blatant as Peter, but our sins are denials nonetheless. What shall we do?

            We’ll look to Christ. As Peter is uttering his third denial, Jesus is being beaten by the temple guard. His passion (suffering) has begun. Here stands the One who would not deny His Father or His Father’s mission. Here stands the One who was faithful and obedient. Even His dying breath will be a confession of His Father’s ultimate rightness, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Why does one so faithful go to the death that a denier deserves? So that the denier doesn’t have to die the death he deserves.

            Does that mean that our denying doesn’t matter, that we can live however we want? No, the price of our sin was sky-high—the death of God’s Son. That God willingly paid such a price should call us to strive to live according to His will. And we should know that persisting in denial threatens us with ultimate destruction. However, the grace of God in Christ reminds us that Jesus died exactly for those whose lives deny Him. In that death is forgiveness and restoration.