John the Apostle records the curious incident where Jesus asks Simon Peter three times in a row: “do you love me?”
At first glance, the exchange seems awkward as Peter keeps answering the same question over and again. What was Jesus doing?
He was giving Peter a chance to redeem his earlier triple denial of the Master, by presenting him with a triple opportunity to affirm His faith and love for Jesus.
I have found a pattern in my life that God allows me to experience situations that are eerily similar to the circumstances of my past mistakes. In our travels, He has also led my wife and I to geographic locations where significant mistakes were made in our family history. And as we are there, similar problems surface between us.
Why?
I believe the Lord is deliberately giving us a second take on a past mistake. It is part of His plan to give us a fresh chance to revisit the issue, and this time behave differently.
Just as Jesus restored Peter, so He wants to restore us our past failures, and give us a new beginning. And this is why He allows us also to face the same question again and again. It is all part of the process of restoring and redeeming our past
Ps Enoch Lavender was born in Australia, raised in Norway, spent time living in China and is now based on the Gold Coast of Australia. He has been studying Hebrew and the Jewish roots of our faith for the past decade, and has a keen interest in the Middle East from a Bible prophecy perspective.
Contact Enoch and Olive Tree Ministries
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