And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:61-62
Here we see a dramatic end to an emotional day for the apostle Peter. He has gone from the glory of the upper room fellowship to the grief of his rejection of the Christ. Peter would have never guessed that morning that by the end of the day he would have denied the Lord and stooped down into sin’s dread sway. Now the night has come and Peter finds himself warming by the world’s fire instead of walking by the Lord’s side. This fellowship with the world leads him to do something he never thought possible. As he watches Jesus being carried through the crowds, someone looks at Peter and says, “This man was also with him [Jesus].” The apostle, fearing for his own life adamantly denies knowing Christ. Three times in the matter of a few minutes Peter does something he had never done before. His fall was swift and it was severe.
Luke 22:61-62
Here we see a dramatic end to an emotional day for the apostle Peter. He has gone from the glory of the upper room fellowship to the grief of his rejection of the Christ. Peter would have never guessed that morning that by the end of the day he would have denied the Lord and stooped down into sin’s dread sway. Now the night has come and Peter finds himself warming by the world’s fire instead of walking by the Lord’s side. This fellowship with the world leads him to do something he never thought possible. As he watches Jesus being carried through the crowds, someone looks at Peter and says, “This man was also with him [Jesus].” The apostle, fearing for his own life adamantly denies knowing Christ. Three times in the matter of a few minutes Peter does something he had never done before. His fall was swift and it was severe.
As I read the story of Peter, I am reminded of my own life and the years of my youth. How foolish I was and how tragic the end of the story could have been. How true it is that sin can take you farther than you care to go and deeper that you care to be. The most treacherous part of sin is that it can happen so fast. I recall in my own life how quickly my slide began. It started, as I was spiritually warming by the world’s fire instead of walking by the Lord’s side. I fell in a spiritual sense. It was severe and it was sudden.
If the story had ended there for Peter or myself, it would have been a catastrophe. Oh, but thanks be the God, the scripture records after the third denial of Peter, the Lord looks at him, which leads to Peter weeping and ultimately his repentance. The Lord would have been justified to destroy Peter right there on the spot, but he didn’t. Instead, Jesus looked at him with a look of compassion and heartbreak, which led to Peter’s repentance. Oh, how I am reminded of the day the Lord gave me that look of compassion and heartbreak. The day he saw me warming by the world’s fires. Much to my surprise, he just looked at me instead of destroying me. He would have been justified to kill me, but instead he loved me. And it was that look that brought me back into His arms.
What about you my friend? Have you felt His eyes peering through you like a beam of light? He is standing at the doorstep of your soul just looking. He sees you and His heart is breaking. Will you respond to His looking?
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