Meeting You Right There

I was in Grade 6 and our school was doing the play “Cinderella.” The casting call was announced, and I wanted to play Gus, the mouse. Gus had very few lines, and even fewer singing parts, so I thought that was the part for me. I got so excited and told my whole family what I was going to do! I thought about how Gus sounded, how he acted, and I looked at my lines. I studied all the lines I needed to know the night before the auditions. The next day all the excitement was boiling up. I got called in to the room. I didn’t know my lines. I didn’t really know the part well; ultimately I did not get the part, and I was heartbroken.

Have you ever felt like you failed? Have you ever felt like you just don’t quite measure up?  Have you ever felt like more was being asked of you than you could give or maybe it’s that you promised more than you could deliver on? We’ve all been there, having that twisted gut, back-of the-skull numbing feeling of hopelessness, guilt, and/or shame…

One easy example to look at is Peter. Having failed Jesus and not living up to his words of commitment, he was pretty devastated. The shame of his failure followed him the whole time Jesus was with him after the resurrection. One day at the side of the lake, Jesus talks to Peter and says, “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-19). Before I go further, this is more than about being reinstated in ministry. Yes, you can take this away from this part of Peter’s story, but Jesus is more accurately getting at Peter’s heart and giving him a vision and a hope for the future. When Jesus said, “Do you love me,” the first two times, he asked, “Do you Agape me?” Or, do you unconditionally love me? Peter responded with, “Yes, Lord, you know that I phileo you.” Saying, “Lord, you know I love you like a friend.” And then on the third time, Jesus changes it to match Peter’s words saying, “Do you phileo me?” And Peter was grieved by this, because he understood that the level Jesus was calling him to was lowered. Peter responded with, “You know all things, you know I phileo you.”

I think, more often than not, when we realize that Christ is meeting us where we are at, we become broken, and maybe even grieved, because it humbles us. His standard is one thing, but His grace? We have a harder time reconciling that.

You see, God knows you’re not “okay,” but it’s not okay to stay that way.
Take a moment and reflect on this, too: Even though Peter didn’t love Jesus the way that he should, Jesus still called him to do Christ’s work with the Church. You can serve Christ even if you’re not “there” yet. Maybe you’re not feeling there, yet. The Holy Spirit will work inside of you – He’ll help you get there.

Peter’s heart was revealed to himself by Jesus. Peter saw that he didn’t love Jesus the way that Jesus wanted him to. But Jesus didn’t just leave it there. Jesus gave Peter hope. Jesus gave Peter a vision for the future. That one day, life would suck. It would be horrible. That he would be going where he didn’t want to go (a familiar sentiment from when he denied Christ). However, in the end, Peter would love Jesus, his Saviour, in that unconditional, agape way. He wouldn’t get it right at first, but he would finish well. Church history teaches us that Peter died being crucified upside down, because he didn’t think himself worthy enough to hang like Christ did.

In the end, though, I think Peter “got it”. Peter loved Christ to the standard he was called to.

God will meet you where you are at, and if you let Him, He’ll take you on the journey to where He wants you to be.

This post was originally posted on EveryDayFaith of the PAOC.