Have you ever noticed that in the story of Noah’s ark God doesn’t just destroy everything and start all over; rather, He preserves a human family and animals from the judgment to be carried forward into the new creation. Through this, God is revealing that He is not in the “destroy and start over” business, but in the redemption business. He doesn’t just toss away things that have gone awry, He restores them to their original purposes.
This is true in Jesus and Christians. Jesus bears the marks of sin in the scars in his hands, feet, and side. Jesus doesn’t escape death, he conquers it. He goes into it, defeats it, and then comes out of it victorious. Jesus doesn’t come and just live forever, he enters into death to redeem a people lost.
Just as God redeemed the death of Jesus making it the means of salvation in the world, so He redeems you and I. He doesn’t just set us aside and say, “Nevermind with him, he’s messed up, gone sideways, made too many mistakes, and therefore I’m moving on.”
No, God enters into our wreckage and redeems both us and our mistakes.
We see this in the story of Peter. Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends, denies him three times (why three? To show the thoroughness of his betrayal). And then, after the resurrection, Jesus asks Peter three times how much he loves him. Three for three. Three denials, three love declarations. Jesus he restores Peter thoroughly. He redeems Peter’s mistake top to bottom.
Through the cross, Jesus absorbs Peters mistake into himself and neutralizes the evil and fallenness in it. He gives Peter a fresh start. The subtext of this event is saying to Peter, “Yes, I know you thoroughly betrayed me, but what I’ve done has provided you an opportunity at a new start, and your example will remind others that they don’t need to be set aside, but they can be restored and renewed.”
Christians come up out of the waters of baptism. Death and chaos (that we’ve created) doesn’t win. God wins. God redeems. God calls, draws, and restores. So the new creation in Noah’s story emerges from the watery chaos, so do we, in Christ. Through faith we enter into the life of Christ that conquers the ruin and wreckage.
Don’t let the devil tell you you’re disqualified. Don’t let him tell you that you’ve been set aside because of your mistakes. Don’t even let him tell you your dirty, filthy rags. For by the blood of Christ, what God says is clean is clean indeed. The power of the cross is the power for redemption.
Just like with Peter, let him heal that place, let him bring forgiveness to your repentance, but then get to work.
