May 25, 2014 · John 21:15–17

Forgive and Let Live

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

“This is the power of the resurrection. It's not just forgiveness. It's with sugar on top — with grace on top. Here's some fish. Here's forgiveness. Here's reinstatement. He didn't deserve that. Exactly. No one deserves Jesus. He's not beholden to us. He doesn't owe us anything. You know what he's doing? He's just loving us — because he loves us. Because he loves us first — we need to love his sheep — and we need to be taking care of his precious human creatures — showing them love — forgiveness — and grace. We're all agents of Christ's forgiveness — of Christ's grace. The future you — the you that participates in the power of the resurrection — here and now — I want to say that you are capable of impossible feats of forgiveness and grace. If you have the Spirit of God in you — you are capable of inexplicable forgiveness and grace. If we want to show the gospel — that's one of the most powerful ways to do it. Mary and Oshea — that's a modern testimony to the power of the gospel — the good news. She's a Christ-disciple, right? She stepped up — and it took her ten years — but the power of the resurrection was inside her — and it was slowly but surely working her heart — allowing her over time to recognize the step that she had to take — that impossible human step of stepping up and saying — I forgive you. Living next door to the man who murdered your son, and inspiring so many of us to do it.”