And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:62 NIV
Sin is doing what I want rather than what God wants of me. And I must admit that I am a sinner. All too often, I follow after my own desires, doing what gratifies me. That doesn’t mean that what I am choosing to do is bad. But it does mean that I have fallen short of God’s desire for my life. I have elevated myself to being lord, rather than the one who died and gave himself for me. And maybe the worst part of that is that I often do not care all that much. After all, what I am doing is enjoyable, it is not bad, and it hurts no one. And all that is true. But still, I fall short; I am sinning.
In this passage, Peter denied that he knew Jesus. Three times. And after the third time, Jesus turned and looked at him. You might argue that Peter’s denial was quite different than my sin; but is it? In denying that he knew Jesus, he was denying Jesus’ place in his life. And in my sin, as inoffensive as I might wish to brand it, I deny Jesus his rightful place in my life. And I believe that Peter’s response to his sin is much more appropriate than mine. Rather than dismiss it because of circumstances, trivialize it, or any other excuse; he went out and wept bitterly. He was brokenhearted over his sin, his denial of Jesus.
Lord, let me be broken-hearted, weeping over my sin.
