The Bible is full of examples of great men of God who destroyed God's plan for their lives, but to whom God gave them a second chance.
To Jonah, God gave him a mission to go and preach to Nineveh, but he went to the opposite side, and ended up in the belly of a fish. But being there, he repents and his God raises a cry, and the Bible says that immediately God heard him and made the fish vomit him on the ground. And as he leaves, the first thing he hears is the voice of God, who says to him: "Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim in it the message that I will tell you" Jonah 3: 2.
In the case of John Mark, he heard in Antioch when the Spirit of God in prophecy said to separate Paul and Barnabas for the work of the ministry, and he joins the missionary team, but then, in the first place they go they find themselves a resistance and Juan Marcos did not want to continue and returned, abandoned the ministry and had no character to persevere. So Paul and Barnabas continued with the mission and when they returned to Antioch, the testimonies they brought with them were impressive. So when Pablo said they were going to visit the brothers again, then Juan Marcos said he wanted to go again, but Pablo said no, and after an argument, they could not reach an agreement and then Bernabé took Juan Marcos and Pablo took Silas and continued the mission.
But over the years, in the second letter to Timothy, Paul says: "Send me John Mark because it is useful for the ministry." It is not known at what time the second opportunity was given for Juan Marcos, but he was the one who wrote the Second Gospel. God gave him a second chance! And this time he did not waste it, after being with Pablo, he was with Pedro until he was crucified, he writes the Gospel dictated by Pedro, then he is the founder of one of the churches and he dies martyred.
Let's see the case of Peter, Jesus was preaching in the synagogue and rebuked a demon, and after this, Peter went after him. He brought him to his house and Jesus healed his mother-in-law. Then they crowded into Peter's house and Jesus healed them all. Jesus said he should go to other cities to preach and Peter goes with Him. In one of these cities on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus uses Peter's boat to preach and then takes him to do a miraculous catch and fear of God falls on Pedro. And I followed him to where he was going.
Jesus took him to the mountain of transfiguration, when he made the list of 12, Peter was included. Peter was the one who received the revelation from God and said that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Of the disciples he was the only one who walked on the waters, everything with him was special, there was a mission for Peter. God let him see this so that he could tell it to the next generations, allowed him to enter the house of Jairus and see the resurrection of his daughter. There was a special deal with Pedro, because he was going to be one of his star witnesses.
The night Jesus told them he was going to be captured and everyone would flee, Pedro said he would never deny it, but that same night, he denied it three times. After the resurrection Jesus appears to them in the Sea of Galilee and when they reached the shore, Jesus had food for them. But the last one to arrive at breakfast was Pedro, he was as if hidden among the other seven, because he could not face it.
When they were at breakfast, it was when Jesus said to Peter: "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? He replied: Yes, Lord; You know that I love you. He said to him: Feed my lambs. He said the second time: Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter replied: Yes, Lord; You know that I love you. He said to him: Pastor my sheep. He said to him the third time: Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Pedro was sad that he told him the third time: Do you love me? and he answered him: Lord, you know everything; You know that I love you. Jesus said to him: Feed my sheep. "
In Greek there are 4 different words that translate love:
Eros: It has to do with the couple, a sexual love.
Estorgeo: Love between family members.
Philosophy: Warmth that is felt by a friend. Special affection
Agape: The love that we men must have for God and demand everything from the human being, requires an effort. It is the love with which they engage in marriage, a love in spite of ...
In this passage:
The first time Jesus tells Pedro "Agapao" and he replies "fileo"
The second time Jesus tells Pedro "Agapao" and he replies "fileo"
But the third time, Jesus says to Peter "Fileo" and he answers you You know everything, you know that "fileo".
Peter was saying, Lord, you know that I will never be able to love you like you, but as this poor heart allows me to fail. And Jesus says: "Shepherd my sheep." He gave him a second chance!
Perhaps you persecuted faith as Paul did, abandoned the mission as John Mark, denied the Lord as Peter, exalted yourself with the gift of God and now you have lost territory, disobeyed or fled from Him or sinned.
And maybe you are sitting and you are not able to face the Lord, speak to him or adore him freely, and suddenly you are asking yourself: Will there be a second chance for me in faith, in the economy, in my family?
If you know that you have ruined everything and that you are guilty 100%, you are aware that what you did should never happen and now you feel on the edge of the abyss or like Jonah in the belly of a fish, you should know that the God we serve is a God of second chances and *** He wants to give you a second chance. ***
