Simon son of John, do you love me?
—John 21:17
Many a sermon has hammered Peter for his failures.
He sank like a rock when fear trumped faith in his water-walking fiasco. He denied friendship with Jesus three times during the Caiaphas trial.
But look at the flip side:
He was the only disciple who had enough faith to get out of the boat; the only disciple who drew his sword in Gethsemane, ready to take on the whole murderous mob that came to arrest Jesus; and the only disciple who stayed close enough to Jesus following his arrest to be accused of being his friend.
His fidelity far surpassed his failures.
Distressed by your weakness? That’s a strength.
God’s eye is on your faithfulness, not your failures.
Failure is not in falling,
but in failing to get up after falling.