Photo by Stuart Miles freedigitalphotos.net

Have you ever experienced purchasing a product only to have it recalled? Disappointing to say the least. Yes, you get your money back, but the recalled products are not to be used again. EVER. Why? Because they are rejects…worthless…unusable.

In John 21, Jesus once again appeared to his disciples after his resurrection. One might wonder why Jesus would return to these disciples, for they certainly didn’t have a good track record. These were the disciples who deserted Jesus when he was arrested. Peter denied Jesus three times. Thomas doubted Jesus’ return. Deserted, denied, and doubted – not a great basis for building God’s kingdom upon.

But Jesus returned to these men to do a disciple re-call. He had called them to follow him years ago and he is now re-calling them to the same mission he had originally called them to…they just didn’t understand it back then.

Jesus’ disciples needed to learn a lesson about God’s kingdom, and the greatest way to learn that lesson was to re-call them to the same mission. To give them a new start. A do-over. They needed to learn the lesson of grace and mercy…of forgiveness and restoration. This was the essence of God’s kingdom, and a re-call was the best way to experience that kingdom.

The great thing about God’s kingdom is that we, too, are recalled. We are the recipients of grace, mercy, forgiveness and restoration. We are given a fresh start to become a part of God’s mission here on earth and the life to come.

The best part is that this recall is a reoccurring recall. 

Yes, God recalls us continually. We will mess up. We will desert. We will deny. We will doubt. But God offers his forgiveness and restores us to His kingdom. We need only to open our hearts and receive it.

Aren’t you thankful for this kind of recall? 

***Kuddos to John Ketchersid for an outstanding lesson on Sunday. He always makes me think and leads me to a better understanding of God and His mission.