Peter denied Jesus. I know I'm guilty of being a wee bit judgmental of him for that. How could he do that to Jesus? How could he deny even knowing Jesus? After all Jesus had done...
But let's face it. Reality is, every time we sin we deny Jesus. When I choose to act upon my own feelings, thoughts, or initiatives rather than by Jesus' standards, I'm denying Him. I'm telling the world that I don't know Jesus, that He isn't in my life, that His laws and loves don't matter to me. We deny Jesus every time we choose to live our way instead of His way. We're just like Peter, maybe even worse.
-How does sin in our life communicate denial of Jesus to those around us?
It says we care more about ourselves than Jesus. Our sin shows that we have placed ourselves on the pedestal, elevated our own interests above the interests of God, said that Jesus doesn't matter. We deny Jesus because we deny that He is important to our lives. We choose ourselves over Him, and in that, we betray Him too.
-Jesus restores us and wants us to know that He loves us unconditionally. In what areas of your life is it hard to receive God's unconditional forgiveness?
One area that has been really hard for me is with my family. I know I've been one to frequently lose my temper, fail to spend quality time with them when I had the chance, not be the best big sister I could be. I regret that now that I'm in college and realize how precious that time with them was. But I still find myself frustrated and annoyed at my younger siblings far too often. I find myself lashing out with my tongue, not treating them with the respect and love they deserve (or sometimes don't deserve, let's be honest, but then again, we don't exactly deserve Jesus' love either!), or loving them and being a good example. I've beaten myself up about it a lot, and it's a weak area Satan knows to latch onto. It's definitely an area I need to receive forgiveness in and move on from, recognizing my failings in the past and using the lessons learned to not fail in the future.
-Unconditional means you need not do anything to earn God's love and forgiveness. What actions or activities do you do out of an attempt to earn God's favor or forgiveness?
I think I'm more one to beat myself up when I fail, whether I fail friends, family, or feel like I've failed God. When my pride or sinful nature takes over and I find myself thinking unkind thoughts, failing to trust God wholeheartedly, doubting, getting angry or frustrated, whatever, I'm more likely to retreat from God a little, try to "fix myself" before I can go back to Him, because I am mad at myself for not being good enough, because I feel like I should be, and when I'm not my natural instinct is that I"m not working hard enough, and thus to work harder, rather than give it up to God. I need more often to simply take my sin and give it to Him, accepting the forgiveness and grace He's already shown me, and knowing that I am not good enough, and the beauty is that He loves me still.
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