“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

In our walk with Christ, there are mistakes we make that we easily forget after we have asked for forgiveness and there are some that become obstacles in our relationship with God because we find them so big that we doubt whether God can forgive us for such mistakes. I would like to use the experience of Peter to describe how unconventional God’s mercy is.

My favorite disciple among the twelve disciples of Jesus is without doubt the Apostle Peter. I really appreciate him because of his proactivity and courage to defend Jesus and other disciples in any situation. Considering the two words I used to describe Peter, you will agree with me that no one will ever predict that this man will deny Jesus. As a matter of fact, even Peter himself would never have agreed if someone had told him he could deny Jesus.

Indeed, in the four canonical gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke and John) when Jesus was telling the disciples they would all run away and leave him, Peter was the one who replied by saying he would never leave Jesus (Mathew 26:33). Even when Jesus told him he would deny him, Peter went further and declared “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” (Mathew 26: 35). Theory against the practice, Peter indeed disowned Jesus three times before the rooster crowed and later wept bitterly after realizing the mistake he committed (Luke 22:62).

However, the most interesting thing in that event was not much the act of Peter than the reaction of our Lord Jesus. Considering Peter’s act, which is not too far from the one of Judas who betrayed Jesus, one would’ve expected Jesus to ask for accountability from Peter. That was not the case. After the resurrection of Jesus, there was no mention in the New Testament where Jesus talked about that incident or condemned Peter on the denial. On the contrary after his resurrection, he went further and gave Peter more responsibility: "Take care of my sheep." (John 21:7).

I do not know the sin or mistake you have committed against God which became an obstacle in your relationship with Christ. But I am convinced that Jesus Christ is ready to forgive you if you show a sincere sign of regret and confession as the Apostle Peter did (Luke 22:62).