The One Tree.
It’s that time of year again when those of us who have gardens are outside mowing our lawns, trimming our hedges and thinking of the flowers and shrubs. And it is no different in our household. The lawns have been trimmed and overgrowing hedges cut back. But this year we decided to also do some much needed maintenance that hadn’t been done in a couple of years.
So, off we went to get some super-strength disinfectant for our driveways and out came the power washer. And a few weekends was spent caring for the driveways, patios and pathways. But during the course of our tasks we noticed a little shrub that was almost dead. It was an Acer tree and it had been a lovely coloured bush in years gone by. But now there were no blooms on it and the little wooden container that it was in was totally rotted away. My wife thought about discarding it but I wanted it keep so that we could replant it and give it another chance. So we found a new pot, added some new soil and put the shrub into it. If there was no sign of life within a month then it would go in the recycle bin.
After a week I started to notice little tiny shoots coming out from it. Something was starting to grow again. And when I checked it again today there were several little branches coming out from it and some stems were displaying signs of life. The shrub had been rejuvenated again. All it needed was a new pot, some fresh soil and a second chance.
And it got me thinking about a course of bible studies that I have been following over these last few months. I have been listening to a sequence of sermons on the Gospel of John and we have just reached the part where Jesus, after His resurrection, had been lighting a fire on the beach. Peter and some others were fishing and not having caught anything had turned back to shore.
Jesus had enquired if they had caught anything and, on discovering that they had caught nothing, told them to go back out and throw their nets over the other side of the boat. They did this and then all shared breakfast on the beach.
But this wasn’t just any ordinary breakfast. This was a “breakfast of second chances”. When Peter and his companions threw the net over the other side of the boat did any of them remember that Jesus had told them to do this three years before? It is recorded as follows…
Luke ch5v4 “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." v5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." v6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
Now we have the miracle recorded again in John’s gospel.…
John 21v4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. v5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. v6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Infact, there were to be more “second chances” during this breakfast. Approximately ten days earlier Peter had denied Christ when he was sitting beside a fire with the servants and officers of the Temple (Luke 22 v56, John 18 v18). And here he was now, sitting beside a fire talking with Jesus. (John ch21v8-10).
Peter had denied Jesus three times (John ch18v17-18, v25-27) and here he was now affirming his love for Jesus three times. (John ch21v15-17)
And now was a time for all of the disciples to stand tall again and have the new shoots of growth spread out through their lives.
You see, God has a habit of bringing us back to our old beginnings to reaffirm His work in us. Sometimes He needs to show us a lesson and then take us back to the beginning to understand why we needed to learn it in the first place. Sometimes we need to fail at something to teach us the true value of it. And God will indeed bring us back into His light again. For, as Paul and Timothy said in their letter to the Christians at Philippi…
Philippians ch1v6 “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus…”
Sarah, the wife of Abraham failed. She doubted God’s promise when He promised her that she would have children in her old age. But then…
Hebrews ch11v11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.
Samson failed when he allowed himself to be captured by Delilah’s guards.
King David failed when he had an affair with Bathsheba instead of being with his army in battle. Psalm 50 is David’s “Psalm of Repentance” after the affair…
Psalm ch51v1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. v2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. v3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. v4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
But they were all given a second chance to grow again in God.
However, Jesus’ conversation with Peter wasn’t about whether he had grasped any particular doctrine, or if he had understood the workings of a certain miracle. He was not asking how his music lessons were going, or whether his bible courses were going okay.
When Peter was at his lowest and most vulnerable, all Jesus asked was, “Peter. Do you love me?”.
And that is what it is all about. Loving Jesus. For it is our love for Jesus that takes supremacy over everything else in our lives.
Through eternal ages let his praises ring.
"Glory in the highest", I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing.
Standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
Standing, standing
I'm standing on the promises of God.
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