One of the biggest fears of athletes and professional sportsmen is to be disqualified in the competition that they are joining. Whether they had a hand in their disqualification, or it was because of someone else on their team, the experience of being disqualified remains heartbreaking.
As followers of Jesus, we can also feel disqualified of His love and mercy when we suddenly fall into sin. When we get tempted and give in to sinning, in spite of our earlier vow to surrender our lives to Him. Such mistakes can leave us feeling guilty, that we cease praying and stop going to church.
But God wants us to know that He understands. He wants us to know that all He wants us to do is to confess our sins to Him, repent, and move on and try our best to avoid a sinful life.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
After discovering that Jesus’ tomb was empty, an angel appeared to Jesus’ women followers, and asked them to tell His disciples that the Lord has risen. He specifically instructed the ladies to tell Peter that He will meet with them in Galilee.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” Mark 16:6-7
Bible scholars say Peter’s name was singled out from the rest of the other disciples because Peter may have felt guilty and disqualified himself from serving the Lord. This was because just as Jesus told him, Peter will deny knowing Jesus so that he could escape punishment.
“But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:60-62
But our Messiah is so merciful that He understood why Peter had to deny Him. It is this same character that assures us that Jesus sees beyond our brokenness. He is so gracious that He understands and still calls us to Himself even if we made a mistake, and have hurt Him.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15
When we have made a mistake and got lured back into sinning, all we need to do is to pick ourselves up and ask for God’s forgiveness. We should trace back our steps towards God, and fortify our spiritual disciplines that could keep us from being tempted to sin. These include our daily quiet time with God and bible reading, our participation in Bible Study Groups, and of course going to church every Sunday.
We should also reflect and avoid what made us falter, and ask the Lord to protect us, and give us the wisdom and strength to withstand temptation.
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Once we have asked for His forgiveness, we should no longer feel guilty and ashamed of coming back to His feet. Scriptures assure us that God forgets about our sins and allows us to start anew.
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25
We should hold on to God’s promise of renewed mercies every morning. And so, we need not feel guilty, and moreso, we should not disqualify ourselves from serving Him and being one of His children. Let us never forget that our God has the heart of an Everlasting Father, who just waits for His children to come back to Him, and recommit their lives.
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11-12
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Mark 16:1-8 and Lamentations 3:21-26 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Do you feel unworthy of being called a Child of God because of a recent lapse in judgment? How can scriptures assure you of Him mercy and grace?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for offering to carry our burdens for us. Give us the grace to remain confident in your loving embrace. Amen.
