~ grace in betrayal and doubt ~
Easter Monday and the awe of the cross and empty tomb are still a place of reflection. The place where my faith is built and will continue to grow. Little by little by watering, nurturing, and testing I hope my faith will grow ever stronger.
The death and resurrection story of Christ is filled with failure and triumph, betrayal and restoration, doubt and belief, life and death. It is a story that has taken place in the past and yet lives out in our lives today. The little stories inside the big story of Christ continues to teach and preach even now.
Look to Peter and see the impulsive man who is known for his betrayal of Jesus. He barreled through an unimaginable betrayal that probably comes in second right behind Judas Iscariot. His promise to never leave him even unto death was short-lived. His denial was real and very public.
Look to Thomas and see the doubting man who refused to believe Jesus rose from the dead unless his conditions were met. He wanted to see the nail marks and place his hand on the side of Jesus where a sword entered his body. He spoke his unbelief among his friends who didn’t necessarily share the same view.
Look to ourselves and see broken humans who betray and have been betrayed. Broken humans do not always handle betrayal with gold star behavior. But doesn’t Jesus show us a better way? In the aftermath of his betrayal, he looked for restoration. Jesus reinstates Peter in John 21:15-21. What did Jesus require of Peter? A simple confession of his love for him. Forgiveness was given, reconciliation took place, and restoration provided the means for Peter to follow Jesus and feed the sheep. Peter could preach the gospel and like Paul be an ambassador for reconciliation.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:20
Look to ourselves and see broken humans who doubt and are unbelievers. Many times because belief is hard to embrace because the cruel tentacles of the world have reached deeply into lives vomiting havoc in every direction. How did Jesus respond to doubting Thomas? He appeared to him and revealed his scars and with an imperative sentence told him to stop doubting and believe. Does it always happen in that manner? Of course not. Jesus doesn’t typically pop in magically every time someone doubts. However…
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” ~ John 20:29
Truthfully, I can be a doubter and struggle with unbelief. Typically, those liars travel along a path with me knowing I’m directionally challenged. When a fork in the road appears they urge me to take the left instead of the right. But I know the Lord beckons me back down the path where there is always forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration. He is the God of healing brokenness and He started immediately when He arose from the grave. He is still risen and still about the business of restoring what is broken.
The grace of forgiveness, the grace of reconciliation, and the grace of restoration build up gratitude to the place of overflowing in my my life and hopefully yours too.
What kind of path are you traveling on these days?
~grace & blessings, Carrie
Michele Morin says
Thanks, Carrie, for reverberations of Easter joy on this Monday morning! I am always blessed by Jesus’s reception of Thomas’s doubt.
Carrie says
His graciousness is always perfect and perfectly amazing!
Lauren Renee Sparks says
I used 2 Cor 5:20 to pray for some loved ones today. Thank you for pointing it out to me.
Carrie says
Thank you for sharing this and blessing me!