Reset
I love my washing machine. That’s right, I said “love”. We’re either the cleanest or the dirtiest in the world because I wash every day. Coming home from vacation, I loaded her up, and pressed the button. Silence.
I ran as fast as I could to pull up the internet to see if I could find tips to get the washer running again. There, on the internet, were the instructions for reset of the electronic panel. I held the start button for 5 seconds, plugged her in, and voila’….it started! Holding down the start button got rid of all the trash in the electronic system that was keeping the washer from working Now, she was like new again….no sputtering, no complaining.
Reset, I thought, is an amazing function. What if we could do that when a conversation goes wrong, or the day that you’d planned for months turns out horribly? I don’t know of a person who hasn’t needed a reset, and that’s exactly what Jesus offers. What about those who are addicted to drugs and pornography, or those who are deceitful, cheaters, or backstabbers? He is limitless. He can forgive a momentary indiscretion or the sins of a lifetime. He can make us new again.
Peter had followed the Lord, listened intently to His teaching and witnessed His healing power. He even sought to defend the Lord by cutting off a soldier’s ear, but within hours of this display of bravery, Peter denied having been a follower of Christ, not once, but three times. Cowardice gripped him. Guilt and despair filled his heart as he realized how he’d denied the Lord. Rather than condemn Peter, however, Jesus redeemed him. He forgave Peter and allowed him a new start over.
As foretold to Peter in Matthew 16:18, Peter became the rock on which the early Christian church was founded. All the trash and junk that was in Peter’s life was forgiven, and from that time until he died a martyr’s death, he boldly served the Lord. Repentance allows us to clear the junk out of our lives, reset our desires to good things, and experience a new life in Him.
-TH –