Love Compensates

There stands a small church. known as the Church of the Primacy of Peter,  built over a large rock on the shore of the Sea of Galilee near the modern town of Tabgha.  Gentle waves break over the rocky bottom of the lake where Peter and the disciples had been fishing.  Jesus prepared breakfast for them and they used the rock as their table.  It is here that Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him, and three times, Peter affirmed his love.  The Church Fathers saw this tri-fold affirmation of his love as his compensation for his tri-fold denial.  However, it was not just words, but action was required.  Peter is commissioned to feed the lambs, feed the sheep and to follow him as a way of showing his love. This path would eventually lead to beatings, imprisonment and crucifixion.   (Jn 21: 17-21)
Our profession of love, if we mean what we say,  will follow a similar path of service, perhaps suffering, and for some, even death.  The point is that no matter what we have done, the love we give to Jesus and others will "cover" our past and by God's mercy, compensate for those errors, misjudgments, and sins.
Bro. Rene