How do you do with failure? I know it sounds like a silly question, but it seems like failure is the one unpardonable sin in society today. I’m not trying to say we should seek out failure. There is a God-given desire within each of us to advance and improve, to do better and be better than our basest desires and the lowest common denominator of our intentions.
That being said, it’s important to recognize the difference between seeing our or another’s failing and viewing them or ourselves as a failure. Failure is an action, not a person. If we confuse the two, a spiral into hopelessness and a loss of motivation to try again is a reality for those who are seeking to rebound from failure. And if I begin to view another person as a failure I place myself on the shaky ground of perceiving myself to be “king or queen of the mountain.”
I say shaky ground because given enough time, everyone fails. It’s a reality of being human. We’re far from perfect and we’re impacted by factors outside our control. And yes, we’ve done dumb, sometimes sinful things… on purpose. In those moments we need to take ownership of our decisions, their impact on others, and the consequences that come with it.
The challenge comes in what happens after failure. In the New Testament we find a man named Peter who failed Jesus in a major way. Peter had promised to go all the way to death with Jesus. But when the moment arrived for Peter to stand up for Jesus, he folded like a deck of cards. Peter denied ever knowing Jesus.
The Bible tells us after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter had returned to fishing. And along the banks of the Sea of Galilee we find Jesus had gone before Peter. Why? Jesus wanted to share a meal with Peter… as well as a course in forgiveness and rebounding from failure.
Jesus brought Peter face to face with his failure, but He also revealed to Peter his failure had not disqualified him from relationship with Jesus or service in His Kingdom. It was to serve as a step, painful as it was, in Peter’s development as a man, a disciple, and leader. Jesus restored Peter… not by castigating him, but by handling the man with grace.
Did Peter fail in the future? Yes. But he had learned from Jesus that God’s grace was bigger than his failing and that what was needed was for him to recognize it, go to Jesus with it, grow in grace from it, and keep moving forward.
Peter would go on to die for Jesus as he’d promised. He would be crucified for the sake of his love and commitment to Jesus and His church. Such was the difference in how Jesus handled Peter and his failure. Have you failed lately? There’s grace for you. Take it to Jesus. You’ll find He’s been waiting for you.
By Pastor Jeremy S. Henderson, Butler Church of the Nazarene