Failure can make an incredible mess of our lives. It’s not just that things go wrong. Failure strikes much deeper than that. At times, we even say that we “feel like a failure” which only shows how deep our blunders can go.

That is how it must have been with Peter as well. He denied his own Master, not once, but three times! He denied the Saviour, of all people! What was it that Peter had so ironically promised a few weeks ago? “I will lay down my life for you” (John 13:37). How far Peter has fallen! And so as Peter meets with Jesus on the beach after the resurrection, he stands here as a man with some very heavy “baggage” you might say. But the Saviour has come to free him from the chains of that ugly past! That is what’s going on in this conversation.

This meeting is not for the Saviour’s sake, so that He can be reassured of Peter’s love. He knows that already – as Peter himself points out. It is not so that Peter can finally be forgiven for his denial. There is no word of pardon here. Instead, this meeting is about the Lord restoring Peter to his office. The Lord Jesus Christ is preparing and equipping Peter to minister to his flock.

In fact, He is preparing and equipping all of us for ministry in the church. And what is the basis for that ministry? What is the foundation for our service to one another? Love. It is repeated three times, even. Our Lord Jesus Christ here wonderfully lifts Peter out of the pit of his guilt and shame. He frees Peter from his ugly past by blowing on the embers of Peter’s love for Him. This will be Peter’s strength as he shepherds under the Great Shepherd.

Our ministry must be based on love. Not on guilt, not on shame. Not on trying to make up for past failures. Not on trying to silence regrets and remorse. That kind of ministry is doomed from the beginning. It will never be able to change the past. It will never cover up the havoc our failures wreak. Instead, the Saviour places Peter on a much more solid footing on which to serve Him. Isn’t the Saviour’s wisdom so wonderful?

Notice in particular for whom this love is to be. It is not love for the sheep that is the basis for Peter’s service – that’s what we might think, at first, perhaps. There is a much stronger foundation for our service, however. Love for the Saviour himself. We need to turn our eyes directly to Him, our Risen Lord.

That love for Jesus, first of all, sanctifies the church’s service and beautifully transforms it in God’s eyes. I can still remember what I made for my dad for Father’s Day in Grade 3. It was a wishing well made of clothespins glued somewhat crookedly on a baby food jar. Perhaps you can recall making something similar. Perhaps you remember receiving something like that. That baby food jar still sits on my dad’s dresser, a home for various knick-knacks. It is not a work of art, by any stretch, let me tell you. It wouldn’t even fetch a price at a garage sale. But does my dad think of it in that way? Does he think it cheap and useless? Not at all. He looks past the imperfections, the globs of glue and crooked pieces of wood. He simply sees the love of his nine-year-old son. That love makes the gift special.

It is our love for Christ, as well, that transforms our service. This makes it pleasing in God’s sight. In this life, our service to God will never be perfect. But it can be seasoned by love for Jesus Christ, transformed into something beautiful despite its ugliness. Isn’t that what the Saviour wants, after all? Not busybodies, not perfectionists, not workaholics, but a people who serve Him out of sheer love.

That love for Christ also strengthens our service like nothing else can. This task that the Saviour gives Peter is not an easy one. Taking care of sheep is never a simple job – especially if you have spent your entire life as a fisherman! Peter will be called to sacrifice and surrender in many ways.

But love for the Christ will be his strength. Anything less would fail him. Will guilt motivate him to let go of all he has in this world for Christ’s sake and the sake of his sheep? Will remorse give him the strength to stretch out his arms and let them be nailed to a cross? A love for the Saviour will. That love the Saviour enkindles will give Peter the strength to even lay down his life in Christ’s service.

Look at what Jesus promises Peter at the end of these words in John 21. Promises, I say, because it is a promise, despite how it may seem at first. The Saviour tells him about the death Peter will die for Him. That is a great promise! It means that Peter’s earlier boast recorded in John 13 will now finally be fulfilled. Isn’t that wonderful? Because of the work of the Saviour on the cross and the outpouring of the Spirit, Peter will be able to fully and truly love his Saviour as he desires – with his very life itself. He will not desert the flock entrusted to him, but even die for their sake and for the sake of his Lord. A love for the Saviour is truly privileged and empowered to do great things for Him!

When you fail in your service of your God and Saviour, turn your eyes to this one question asked here on the beach. You need to answer it as many times as you have failed. It will set you free from the past, transform your service, and be a great strength as you set out to serve your Saviour in thankfulness and love.

I ask it of you on behalf of the Risen Saviour: “Do you love Me?”