Dear Daughters,

Remember the story of Peter, when Jesus was on trial?  A few hours earlier, Jesus had told Peter that he would betray Him, that he would claim distance and innocence from knowing the man sentenced to death.  Peter of course vehemently denied that such a thing could ever happen.  Even if everyone else ran away, he wouldn’t.  Not Peter. No, Peter would be true and faithful even unto death.

Yet, several hours later Peter did the very thing he vowed he’d never do – betray the man who had even predicted the number of times Peter would deny his Lord.

Not once, not twice, but three times he cursed and swore, saying he never knew the man.

And then the rooster crowed. 

Peter was devastated with despair when he realized he had just denied his Lord.  He heard the rooster crow and knew he had failed.  He was traumatized, thinking perhaps someone else – anyone else – could have said those words against Jesus, but certainly not him. 

And yet, he also saw mercy in the eyes of Jesus as the rooster crowed.  Peter wept bitterly but he didn’t give up on life itself.   

What does the rooster’s crow signify to you?

When I hear the rooster’s crow, I typically look at the sins of people around me.  It’s so much easier to point out theirs instead of my own.  But the Lord, when I ask, shows me my part in the dance of offenses in which I participate.  And when I confess that I too play a part in every problem, I know the forgiveness of Jesus is there immediately. 

Someone else may hear the rooster’s crow and feel extreme guilt and shame because of a memory being triggered from someone’s remark – snarky or simply in passing – but it catapults them into a pit of self-loathing and remembrances of past memories and similar failures.

Either way, pointing the finger at others or ourselves can become a severe detriment to receiving the freedom God desires for us.

I am continually amazed at the outrageous mercy of Jesus.  The extreme grace he showed to Peter as well as Judas the betrayer.  During the Last Supper, Jesus knelt down and washed all the disciples’ feet, including Peter – the one who later denied Jesus – and Judas, who Jesus knew would betray him within the hour.  I can hardly fathom the love and generosity of our Lord who would be a servant to those men, knowing exactly what each of them would do within a very short period of time.

Judas, eager to earn 30 pieces of silver, happily walked to the Pharisees to receive his payment – until he saw the consequences of his betrayal – the rooster’s crow for him. Then his guilt suddenly became so deep he saw no way out, and drowning in shame, he hung himself.

Peter, succumbing to peer pressure, spoke words he thought would never come out of his mouth – denying his teacher and friend. And then the rooster crowed. I’m sure both Peter and Judas felt like they were drowning in fear and consumed by shame.  One reached out and took hold of restoration and forgiveness; the other chose to condemn himself. 

 A thousand years before Jesus even walked on the earth, King David wrote about this undeserved forgiveness and freedom from condemnation, because he had experienced it after committing both adultery and murder. 

He does not treat us as our sins deserve, nor does He repay us according to our iniquities... As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:10

 Thank God we don’t get what we deserve, otherwise we’d all be dead. There’s always a second chance, a third, a fourth…His mercy never ends.

Next time you listen to that rooster’s accusation, remember – always remember, that’s not the end of the story.  The Son is rising and His forgiveness is a free gift to all.

We worship the God who turns tragedy into triumph

Sorrow into singing

Who turns brokenness into beauty

Death into Life.

            David Platt

Love, Mom