Christmas is near and also I am vacating my room in Bangalore. Had to carry as much baggage as possible to Nagercoil and had to do some stunts with luggage on the way. When I finally reached the entrance of my home I heard a voice saying, "Abba is home" followed by a smaller voice saying, "Abba is home". Those were the voices of my nieces. They address me as Abba.
Though I couldn't see the excitement in their faces as they were playing inside my Dad's car, I could hear it in their voices. I saw door of the car open and two little girls, Riona and Liana aged 5 and 3 respectively jumped off the car and ran towards me.
I was still trying to roll my big suitcase in my right hand towards the door. They caught me half way before I could reach the door. While Riona stood next to me smiling and jumping in excitement, I saw Liana squeezing a way through, the suitcase and the shoulder bag which I had rested next to me, and grabbed my legs.
I remembered somewhere in the Bible a similar incident happened.
"As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him and jumped into the water."John 21:7
No! not Peter! ... I least expected him to express his love in this fashion.
He was the most macho among all of Jesus's disciples and the only one who dared to draw a sword against a Roman soldier and managed to chop off an ear of one among them. Probably the eldest among Jesus's disciples and with all the worldly experience always knew what to do.
May it be when Jesus was with Moses and Elijah, when he knew it was the best place to keep Jesus safe or may it be when he swore that he would never betray Jesus and would follow even to death. If only he had known Jesus heart then !!!
May it be when Jesus was with Moses and Elijah, when he knew it was the best place to keep Jesus safe or may it be when he swore that he would never betray Jesus and would follow even to death. If only he had known Jesus heart then !!!
How could he jump into the water to be with Jesus at the sea of Galilee after such cold blooded betrayal he did, only a few days back, "by cursing and swearing. Matthew 26:74", voiding Jesus’s warning, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times. Matthew 26:34”
When they met for the first time in a boat he said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man! Luke 5:8”. Why do a man who is very much conscious of his sinful nature, though messed up big time now, wants to be with Jesus?
The bible does not record this as Peter's first encounter with Jesus after resurrection. Could Jesus have revealed his heart to Peter during their first encounter, by telling him a simple truth, "When I carried the sins of the world on the cross, I carried your sins too".
Peter after living with Jesus for three years, hearing Him preach and witnessing the miracles finally figured God's plan - All this while he was trying to protect Jesus, God had been trying to protect him through the blood of the true lamb of God, "It was all for him"
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Hebrews 10: 19-23"
This Christmas season, know the significance of Christmas,
"IT WAS ALL FOR YOU"
"IT WAS ALL FOR YOU"
