When You Have Returned To Me

On the night Jesus was arrested, the Lord said,

“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Lk 22:31-32)

Peter was sure he would never leave Jesus so it was hard for him to think about returning, or what he would do if and when he returned. There is a strong lesson from this in the words of 1 Corinthians 10:12: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Like Peter, there are many studies and sermons that we think we don’t need because they don’t apply to us – and never will – until the unthinkable happens and we do what we said we would never do. Then what?

I don’t think we prepare enough for the “return to me” situation. We study about how sin is bad and we need to avoid it, but then what? What if we try and fail? What if we don’t try and fail? What if we lose our faith? What if we intentionally go far from God and for a long time?

Notice that Jesus warned Peter and Jesus prayed for him. Peter still failed. But did Jesus want Peter back? Did Jesus think Peter could still be useful in the kingdom of God? Yes! It doesn’t matter what we’ve done and how long we’ve done it, Jesus will take us back if we “return” to Him in faith and repentance (1 Jn 1:8-2:2). We need to make up our minds now that it will always be a “when you return to me” (not “if you”) – we WILL come back to Jesus!

Peter’s denial of Jesus was startling and crushing. He went out and “wept bitterly” afterward (Mt 26:75). But feeling bad, like a failure, or embarrassed wasn’t enough. He had to “return” to Jesus – and Peter did! It can be hard for us to admit our sinfulness and need to return to Jesus – but we can and must! And like Peter, we can go on to be useful in the kingdom of God. Don’t stay away. Jesus says, “Return to Me.”    dd

Why it’s a bad idea to stay away a little while longer. It’s tempting to think, “I’ll return to Jesus after I…” or “I’m not ready yet to return so I will later.” But life is uncertain. We’re not promised tomorrow (Ja 4:14). And Ecclesiastes 12 warns that we think we’ll be interested in spiritual things in the future but the time will come when we say, “I have no pleasure in them” (12:1). 1 Corinthians 2:14 predicts that the failure to develop a spiritual mind will make God’s word non-sensical and we won’t accept them. Don’t wait to return to the Lord!         dd