After Jesus’ ascension, the early church was founded. But even before this, Jesus already knew that the church would be built through Peter. After Simon Peter had recognised Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, Jesus recognised Simon Peter’s. Jesus said: ‘I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.’ Peter’s faith took a bit of a fall as Jesus approached His death. He denied that he knew Jesus three times, just as Jesus had predicted. But after the resurrection, Jesus gave Peter a chance to make up for his mistake. Jesus asked him, three times, whether he loved Him (have a read of John 21:15-19). And then Peter did become one of the early instigators of the church. When we read about the early church in Acts 2, Peter is right there in the midst of what’s going on. In fact, after the Holy Spirit came down on them, Peter preached the truth of Jesus to all the people there. And he was the one who instructed them what they should do next, saying: ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 2:38 NIVUK). And around 3000 were added to the church that day. That’s a lot of people. God used Peter despite his mistakes. And when we make a mistake, God doesn’t give up on us either. He gives us another opportunity to get things right. And He’ll still use us, call us and equip us in the kingdom. Our mistakes don’t mean God discounts us. We’re still who He says we are, and we can still do what He’s asked us to do.

What Now?

When people make mistakes which impact us, we can end up holding a grudge. Is there someone you need to forgive? Ask God to help you begin that process of forgiveness today.