Jesus knows, and loves us still

I read today about Jesus telling Peter he will deny Him three times before the rooster crows. Like me, Peter does not believe Him.  No, Peter believes that Peter will do what is right! ...and then he denies Jesus three times.   So sad.  My heart hurts for Peter like it hurts every time I mess up whether it is with my husband, my kids, my grandkids, my students, my fellow teachers. You get the point.

So, why did Jesus tell Peter about this?  To accuse him? To make  Peter feel guilty? To show him He knows the future? To show him that He is God?  In my devotional this morning, they wrote that it was to show Peter that Jesus loved him even with all his faults, even knowing what he would do already. This is what convicts Peter later and helps him become a great leader of the early church.

It is the same for me, for us.  God, Jesus, the Spirit, all know every right and wrong thing we have done, are doing, and will do. Yet, I, and we, are still loved unconditionally and forgiven! We can start again instantly with a clean slate just as these wonderful verses summarize for us in Romans 8:33-34.

"No,  in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who lived us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth,  nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is found in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen to that and what an uplifting thought to start the day!"