Jesus appears to the disciples in a scene similar to when He first called Peter into ministry with Him. Jesus directs them to cast their net and they find abundance where there was nothing but emptiness before. When Jesus says the word (and we obey), the appointed harvest will come in!

Peter had seen Jesus since his denial, but at this meeting Jesus addresses it. Except He doesn’t mention it.

You don’t need to rehash the past. You don’t need to talk over past sins to get closure. God removes our sins from His sight. He drops them in the depths of the sea. Forgive and remove the sin from your sight. Ask God for help with that. His grace IS sufficient.

Jesus restores Peter by asking him three times if Peter loves Him. Peter had denied Him three times. Peter affirms his love for Jesus three times. Jesus three times speaks Peter’s calling and repeats His earlier command to follow Him.

Jesus tells Peter three times to feed His sheep. Peter will be the first pastor, the first church leader. Jesus doesn’t look back with Peter. He looks forward. That’s the way to restoration. The past can be forgiven and forgotten. Don’t go back. Go forward. Don’t bring up past failings. Offer new mercies each day and look with hope to the future.

One of my favorite lines in the Bible is the very end of John about how the world couldn’t contain all the books that would be written if everything Jesus did were written down.

Much can be done in just a few years. You may feel like you’ve spent a long time waiting, but God has been preparing you. Jesus waited thirty years for a three-year ministry, but He accomplished more than could ever be told. Surrender to the waiting. Wait with expectation. Go through the refining. There’s no measure to how God can use a life.