BOUNCING BACK (part three)
In parts one and two we looked at Joseph and Paul. People like Job, Jesus, Joseph and Paul suffered hardships but they didn't do anything wrong to bring it upon themselves. Their sufferings weren't because they had sinned yet they bounced back anyway. But what about when our suffering is our fault? What if we've done someone wrong and we're suffering for it? We've sinned and now we are reaping the consequences.
When we suffer for doing the right thing we don't have to deal with the pain of our sin; we don't deal with the regrets and sorrow we have from messing up. We know the suffering we're going through is no fault of our own.
But when we have made poor choices, we're dealing with the consequences, part of which is feeling the weight of guilt and remorse. And that can push us away from God in shame; making it harder to bounce back. So how can we bounce back when we've sinned?
1) The Prodigal Son bounced back.
Let's see what enabled this wayward young man to bounce back.
Luke 15:11-20, "Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’
So he got up and went to his father."
In looking at the son's actions we can see what enabled him to begin to bounce back. The first thing he did was come to his senses. When he decided he wanted to grab his inheritance and take off he became locked in to senselessness. He partied and squandered; all the while living without any good sense. He wasn't thinking about the fact that at some point the money would run out and then what would he do?
When we're caught up in sin sense goes out the window. We don't think, or care about the consequences. We're just living in the moment; living in the land of self. But then reality hits and it's like you're waking up from a dream. That's what happened to our friend here.
He finds himself being a hired hand taking care of pigs; an unclean animal to the Jews. He became involved in unclean behavior so God put him with unclean animals. Unclean animals and Jews were not a good combination just like unclean behavior and Christians are not a good mix.
So the man who once had plenty of money and was living it up soon found himself broke and working with pigs. Although the famine played a role in his situation he still made bad choices that led him to where he was. We see the dramatic decline: at his father's house he had a nice place to live with fine food. Now he was in a pig pen longing for pig slop.
The reality of it all hit him like a slap in the face and he came to his senses; realizing he didn't need to live like this any longer. If we are going to bounce back from our sins and mistakes we will need to realize that we don't need to live in them any longer. This man saw his situation for what it was, became disgusted with it and knew he had to do something about it. He had another option to pursue.
And in his plan we can see his humility. He would tell his father he wasn't worthy to be a son but just a hired hand. He knew he had messed up and was willing to accept the demotion. Bouncing back takes humility; we recognize our wrongdoing and accept responsibility. When we justify, rationalize, minimize or excuse our mistakes we won't bounce back from them, we'll just end up repeating them.
"He got up and went to his father". He follows through with the plan. He didn't just wish or dream, he took action. When we do wrong we might think of things to improve our situation but then we dismiss it, thinking, 'that'll never happen' or 'I can't do that'. We can talk ourselves out of trying to bounce back. The Prodigal son didn't do that. He thought of a plan and then he enacted it. He took the necessary steps that would determine whether or not his plan would work.
And this shows he was hopeful. He couldn't predict how his father would respond but he had hope that he might accept his proposal. There is no bouncing back without having the hope that things can get better. And when he saw his father's response he got more than he had hoped for.
Vs. 21-24, “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate."
The son probably expected his father to be angry and start yelling at him; that's if he was willing to be around him at all. I'm sure he expected to have to beg his father to take him back. So it's safe to say that when he saw his father's joyful reaction he was very surprised. This helps us to bounce back too.
First, we know God is waiting for our return when we mess up. Satan's lie is that God will reject us; that we're beyond the point of forgiveness. But when we know God is longing for our return and is joyful when we do, we can be motivated to bounce back. The son didn't even get through his whole apology before the father expressed his joy. He saw his son's look of shame and had heard all he needed to hear to know it was sincere.
When we're sincere and have the hope that things can actually work out, maybe even better than we plan, then we'll be encouraged to put down the pig pods and bounce back. If we make foolish choices and are suffering the consequences, it's never too late to come to our senses and bounce back.
2) Peter bounced back.
Jesus told Peter at the Last Supper that he would deny that he knew him. Peter's response was like, 'no way; never happen'. Peter was so confident of his loyalty to Jesus that he wouldn't even accept Jesus telling him different. But Peter wasn't as solid as he thought. He didn't take Jesus' revelation seriously; he didn't allow it to register.
Then it happened. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. When the rooster crowed Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Then he realized Jesus was right. The severity of what he had just done hit him hard. He went away and wept bitterly.
After Jesus was crucified I can imagine how Peter was feeling. We know the disciples had to be convinced that Jesus really resurrected so Peter probably thought his denial and Jesus looking at him would be the final memory he would have to carry with him for the rest of his life. What pain; what regret. But Peter didn't run away; he stayed with his friends. I don't know if he told them about the denial or not but I guarantee he agonized over what he had done to his Lord.
Then Jesus comes back to life and appears to the disciples. Peter could be overjoyed now, right? Well, I'm sure he had mixed feelings. He would be thrilled that Jesus was alive but now Jesus was there in the room, looking at him. Having to face the one he betrayed would cause him more shame and guilt.
I don't know if I could even look at Jesus. When we know we've wronged someone we care about we're filled with shame and regret. When we're faced with seeing them again a part of us wants to avoid that encounter. We can't look them in the eye, we stumble over our words; it's agonizing. I'm sure Peter was a hot mess.
But then came the miraculous catch of fish. The disciples go out but they didn't catch anything all night. Early morning comes and they see this guy on the shore. It was Jesus but they didn't realize it. He asked how they did and then he told them to throw the net on the right side of the boat and they would catch some.
I'm sure they were like, "who's this guy?" But, as crazy as it sounded, they put the net down. Soon the net had so many fish in it they couldn't haul it in. Then John realized who the mystery man was.
John 21:7, "Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water."
As soon as the miracle took place John knew this "stranger" was no stranger at all; it was Jesus. He tells Peter and what does he do-he jumps ship! Peter's so excited to see Jesus he couldn't get to him fast enough.
The first two times Jesus appeared to the disciples Peter was no doubt too ashamed to face him. At some point after that his heart had changed and he was hoping to get another opportunity to see Jesus. When he did, he didn't hesitate to make his way to him.
At that moment the boat didn't matter, the fish didn't matter, his friends didn't matter-all that mattered to Peter was getting to Jesus and nothing was going to stop him. He had endured the pain and guilt long enough.
If we're going to bounce back from our shameful acts, then Jesus needs to matter most; he needs to be our top priority. We need to overcome the pain and shame; we need to push through the guilt and regret and just get to Jesus.
So the rest of the disciples got the boat and fish to shore where Jesus had some coals and bread baking. Jesus told them to bring some of the fish and they would have breakfast. Afterwards, Jesus addressed Peter.
Vs. 15-17, "When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep."
Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus asked Peter about his love for him three times. When Jesus told Peter he was going to deny knowing him Peter rejected it, thinking he had an unshakable devotion to Jesus. But he found that wasn't true. Now it was time to determine where he was at.
Now, Peter was humble. Notice the first two times Jesus asks Peter, "do you truly love me", but Peter responds with "I love you". Then the last time Jesus drops the truly. In the Greek Jesus asks Peter, 'do you agape me'; meaning, 'do you love me with an unconditional love'. But Peter answers, 'you know I phileo you'; meaning, 'I have brotherly love for you'.
Peter remembered his mistake and was not willing to put his love for Jesus at such a high level yet. The same is repeated the second time but in the third, Jesus uses the word, phileo.
Peter was hurt by a couple of things here. One, he sees Jesus asking him to confirm even his phileo love. It's like Jesus is saying, "Ok, I know your love isn't unconditional right now, but is it even at the level of brotherly love?"
And the second way this hurt Peter was being asked three times. I believe Peter connected the three questions about love with his three denials. He didn't like having to answer three times and he didn't like having to give the answers he did but he knew it was all necessary.
If we're going to bounce back we need to see where we're really at. We may think we have a higher level of love and devotion than we actually do. Then we find ourselves committing an act that we didn't think we ever would. We may be tempted to brush it aside because we don't want to deal with it. We call it a fluke and carry on as if nothing happened. But that response can set us up for a repeat offense.
We need to be careful not to beat ourselves up over it but we can't make light of it either. Jesus didn't let Peter slide on what he did and he shouldn't have. This may have been painful for Peter but it was necessary medicine to swallow.
Jesus asked him if he loved him more than these. We don't know exactly what Jesus was referring to but he could've been asking him, 'do you love me more than you love these friends', 'do you love me more than you love these things (boat, fishing gear, the fish themselves) which translates to-'do you love me more than you do your job/livelihood'.
Or, Jesus could be asking, 'do you love me more than these guys do'? This would go after Peter's statement in the upper room where he so confidently said, 'even if everyone else falls away, I never will'. Peter thought he was more devoted to Jesus than anyone else. Peter now knew that wasn't true; perhaps that's why he left that part out of his response. Peter's responses all include, "you know that I love you", with the last one including, "you know all things". Peter knew that Jesus knew where his love was at.
Jesus tells Peter to: feed my lambs, take care of my sheep and feed my sheep. This means Peter was to preach and teach and take care of the church-the young ones as well as the older ones. Even though Peter messed up and his love for Jesus wasn't where it should be, Jesus still gives him these responsibilities.
Jesus didn't just forgive Peter, he reinstated him and entrusted him with the duties of an Apostle and leader. Feed my lambs and sheep and take care of them-these are entrusting words. Jesus is placing the responsibility of leadership in Peter's hands.
That's important to be able to bounce back. Jesus still wants to use us even though we've messed up; even if we've shown that our devotion isn't where it should be.
Peter went on to be a pillar of the church. After Jesus' ascension the disciples gathered together and the Holy Spirit came like Jesus said it would. After that Peter preaches a great sermon in chapter 2. In chapter 3 he starts healing people. In chapter 4 Peter's boldness and courage came out when he preached to the rulers and elders.
And on and on it goes. There is an obvious transformation from the old Peter to the new. Peter denied knowing Jesus and he was humiliated when he realized that Jesus was right and that he had done something so devastating. But he bounced back and became the foremost Apostle, leading the way in the formation of the early church and the spread of the gospel.
When we've done wrong we might want to run away and stay away. But Jesus wants us to run to him like Peter did. When Jesus saw Peter he didn't say, 'you've got a lot of nerve showing your face here'. Instead, Jesus said, "come and have some breakfast".
If we are going to bounce back we need to focus on the fact that Jesus wants us to have godly sorrow, humility, repentance and then return. Then we can bounce back and go on to do amazing things for the Lord.
