Fishing by the Sea of Galilee, Peter along with his brother were approached by Jesus with this invitation, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt. 4:19-20 NKJV) Incredibly they dropped their nets and followed Jesus. For the next 3½ years Peter and eleven other men followed Jesus on an incredible journey, eyewitnesses to the power and sovereignty of the Messiah who healed the sick, raised the dead, performed miracles of provision, and taught the multitudes.

How many times had Peter and the others wondered why Jesus had chosen them. Not one among was a member of the religious or noble elite. Peter, James, John and Andrew were mere fishermen; Matthew was a despised tax collector; Judas (not the Iscariot one) was a zealot. Not exactly the kind of men whom the people of the day would have considered the cream of the crop.

Yet Jesus had chosen them. And they followed him. But one day, the wave of elation they had been riding on as disciples of Jesus came crashing down. On a Friday, Jesus was nailed to the Cross and along with him their hopes, their dreams, and their confidence in their future.

Jesus was dead. The turmoil of doubt and guilt raged inside of them. Doubt, was he truly the Messiah? Guilt, because they had deserted him. That is what they felt on Friday and Saturday but on Sunday, the miraculous happened. Peter and John had seen the empty tomb but they had not seen Jesus.

Fearing the Jewish leaders, Peter along with some of his fellow disciples had gathered together in a room with locked doors, when Jesus suddenly appeared. In an instant any despondency turned to elation. Jesus was alive!

But eight days later, the disciples were still in hiding (yes, behind locked doors), when Jesus appeared to them a second time. Yet even after this second visitation the disciples are keeping a low profile. They rejoiced at the miracle of his resurrection, confirming that Jesus was the Messiah, but things weren’t going to be like they were before─traveling with Jesus as he would teach, preach and perform miracles.

So now what? What did the future hold? How could Jesus use them after they had failed him with their desertion and denials? Peter was especially laden with a spirit-crushing guilt because he was the one who boldly proclaimed to Jesus, face-to-face, that though the other disciples may deny and desert him, Peter never would! Yet he had denied Jesus not once but three times. He still remembered the moment when the rooster crowed after that third denial, and Jesus turned his head and looked directly at Peter. (Luke 22:60) Those knowing eyes pierced his soul. How many bitter tears had Peter shed since that moment?

Jesus was alive but Peter was certain that his denials negated his calling to be a disciple who would disciple others. So, he went back to fishing. He went back to what he was doing before he made that choice to follow Jesus. But Jesus showed up yet again, in the same place, watching Peter do the same thing when he had first called Peter to be his disciple─at the Sea of Galilee, fishing. Jesus then extended to Peter that same invitation, “Peter, follow me!”

In that moment, Jesus reminded Peter that his denials and desertion had not changed the purpose for which God had created Peter. With the Lord’s forgiveness, it was time to move forward, to become the apostle who would establish the Lord’s Church upon the earth. “Follow me” was an invitation for Peter to start again with renewed purpose, renewed energy, renewed focus. Peter embraced that invitation and became a founding apostle of Christ’s Church upon the earth!

We may not have denied or deserted Jesus like those first century disciples, but we know what it is like to become discouraged, even despondent, not sure of our future. Who would have thought that a year after the first COVID-19 restrictions were put in place that they would still impact our lives today, impact our ability to gather together. We feel disoriented because the world we knew before COVID may not return. There may be a new normal, and we feel at a loss. Now what?

As Christians, the answer is easy! We embrace the Lord’s standing invitation, “Follow me!” This is the season for each of us to renew our choice to follow Jesus with fresh energy and focus. No matter how the future unfolds, no matter what it looks like, if we follow Him, He is with us. He will guide and empower us to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. Follow Him to your best future!