Luke 22:62
“And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.”
Have you ever hurt someone you love? Your parents, a sibling, your closest friends? I know I have. To be honest, I hurt quite a few people fairly recently. My last relationship was a very toxic one, and I didn’t realize it until the end. During the year we were together, I disappointed my parents by staying with him, and I hurt my best friends by putting him above our friendships. Looking back on the year I wasted with him, I am still so distraught over the things I said and did that ruined my other, more important relationships in the process. Though it’s been four months since I’ve seen him, and though I’ve been granted forgiveness from my people, I can’t seem to forgive myself.
Knowing that I feel these things over a dumb ex-boyfriend, I can only imagine how Simon Peter felt. Though his love for the Lord was so deep, so strong, Christ told him on the night of the Last Supper, “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times” (Matthew 26:34). Unfortunately, Peter proved the Lord right. He denied any association with Jesus, repeatedly saying, “I don’t know the man!” but once the rooster crowed, he remembered, “And went out, and wept bitterly.”
In this verse, the word “wept” is so painful to read. Peter wasn’t just teary-eyed, he didn’t shrug off his mistake, he wept. Bitterly. He knew the depths of his sin, the intensity of his mistake, and he wept. While we may feel what Peter did was unforgivable, God did not. Peter went on to become the rock of the church (Matthew 16:18) and was such an impact on the Christian faith, he was martyred for his love of Christ.
I have always felt as though God used Peter to show us how deep his love truly is. We always hear about how our God loves unconditionally, but sometimes, it’s hard to see it in action. If something you’ve said or done has been weighing on your chest recently, remember Peter and the way God worked in his heart. He wept—his denial of Jesus brought him incredible amounts of sorrow and pain. But he repented for his actions, and the Lord favored him for doing so.
Today, take some time to examine your conscience. Have you hurt someone with your words? Have your actions brought others distress? If the answer is yes, consider writing a letter to the person you have negatively impacted, asking for forgiveness. Then, in the silence of your heart, ask God to forgive you too.