October 6

God's Restoring Love

Bring your confessions and return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Take away all our iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.” I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger has turned away from them. — Hos 14:2-4 BSB

Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd My sheep.” — John 21:16 BSB

The causes of backsliding are many. We may have pretended to live a more devoted life than we were truly living; neglected to be watchful in prayer; allowed secret sin to eat away at our devotion, like termites in the East silently destroying wood; or we may have yielded to temptation and then justified ourselves in the face of conscience. Perhaps we feared what others thought and followed the crowd into evil. Maybe we trusted in our wealth when prosperous or fell into greed and despair when poor.

The world looks down on those who fall and doubts the possibility of full restoration. It remains suspicious of anyone who has lost their position of respect—the former financier now in prison, the once beautiful woman ruined by addiction, the disgraced minister or doctor. All these find it difficult to regain their standing. But God, with infinite compassion and love, reaches out to the fallen. He promises forgiveness and restoration to all who return to Him.

This was how our Lord treated Peter. Though Peter fell terribly, Jesus knew that deep down, Peter’s love was strong, and He did not hesitate to entrust him with the care of His sheep and lambs. There is a beautiful statue in a museum that was found shattered into hundreds of pieces. The fragments were carefully gathered and, with great patience, restored to their original beauty. In the same way, the Lord Jesus takes the broken pieces of any life that comes to Him and, with His gentle touch, remakes it into something beautiful and useful in His service. This is the meaning of redemption. All Christ asks of us is that we follow Him. Whether we walk on our own or need to be carried, whether we are young or nearing the end of life, let us follow Him, love Him, and obey Him. He will heal our backslidings and never mention them again.

Prayer

O Lord, we want to be Yours. May we never fall away from You. Amen.