Tip of My Iceberg

She’s been playing soccer for several years; her enthusiasm had been moderate, and her skill set was not at the level her parents knew she could play.

At her first tournament this year, however, Brooklyn surprised everyone by scoring in all four games they played, as well as being the winning score in two of the games.

Who knew?

Tiffany, Brooklyn’s mom, said that her daughter was more aggressive playing in practice than in the games. Neither of her parents understood why, but nobody can create enthusiasm for anything if someone isn’t motivated to do it for themselves.

Brooklyn’s offensive playing was a joy to watch. She played with focus and purpose and enjoyed herself in the process.

Change can happen, but it takes growth. Healthy things grow. Growing things change. Changes also require intent and heart desire because they can’t be forced. Brooklyn had the chance to practice longer and gain more confidence in her abilities, which gave her more courage to play with passion.

We all need the chance to grow, improve, and make changes that help us become better people. It isn’t always places where we’re doing well that motivate those kinds of change.

Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, was a passionate man who felt deeply and responded with dedication and zeal as he ministered alongside his Lord. But fear and hesitation put him in an awkward situation.

Jesus had been arrested and taken to the home of the high priest, where He would be questioned for actions that the religious leaders believed to be blasphemous. They didn’t like Him claiming to be the Messiah. Peter followed the guards, made his way into the courtyard, and was confronted three times by people who believed him to be one of Jesus’ followers.

Three times, he denied he knew Jesus, a fact Jesus had prophesied would happen. When he realized what he’d done, Peter fled in shame.

Days later, Peter was fed up with trying to be what he thought he could never be–a faithful disciple of Jesus. He determined he’d return to what he’d done before–fishing, and he took six other disciples with him. They caught nothing all night. When morning came, a man on the beach told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, and when they did they caught 153 large fish. One of his friends told Peter it was Jesus, and Peter jumped from the boat to swim back to shore.

He needed closure.

After breakfast, Jesus pulled Peter aside and asked him three times if he loved Him. Jesus wasn’t just giving Peter a chance to redeem himself after his denial; He was helping him see that Peter was not only redeemed from his mistakes but was reinstated to a higher responsibility than before. “‘Then take care of My sheep,’ Jesus said.” John 21:17b.

We each need the chance to be redeemed, for we all make mistakes that feel like we’ve done the worst possible thing with no opportunity for change. Jesus gave Peter the chance to change, and to prove that he was the man Jesus knew he was.

It took time. Peter became a leader in the fledgling church that proclaimed Jesus as Messiah, and much of his passion came from messing up and trying again. Peter was given the chance to grow to become a better man, an opportunity Jesus gives each of us.

Failure isn’t fatal; we all mess up sometimes. With God, there are second chances to grow.

Are you going to quit? Or try to grow?