23rd Day of Lent
A Last Word is like the First Word from Jesus
"And....he said to him, 'Follow me.'" John 21:19

I've heard that you need to tell people at least seven different times before what you are trying to communicate sinks in.  We sure see this in advertising (especially in election year political ads!), where the same ad is repeated over and over again. 

How many times did Jesus have to tell Peter to "follow him" before that message truly sank in for Peter?  He followed from the beginning, so Jesus did make a huge impact, but Peter seemed to struggle all the time with what following Jesus truly meant.  As we've already seen, Peter deserted Jesus during his trial, denying he ever knew the man.

But Jesus does not give up on Peter.  It's fascinating to me that in this lesson, after the resurrection, after Peter's broken relationship with Jesus has been restored, Jesus again tells Peter to "follow me."  Over and over Jesus calls Peter to follow, and it appears Peter finally got the message.  He does follow and becomes a great leader in the church, even knowing it would cost him his life. 

The call to follow Jesus is not a one time, once and for all invitation.  It comes again and again, new every morning.  Will you follow Jesus today?