Love Restores

Point of Relation

When Bill Withers wrote “Lean on Me,” he wasn’t trying to write a hit—

he was remembering his roots.

You see, he grew up in a small West Virginia coal mining town, not too different from East Bangor,

where neighbors helped each other get by.

Later, living in a big city and feeling isolated, he put that memory to music.

The song became a timeless anthem of shared burdens

and the kind of love that holds you steady

when you can’t stand on your own.

Things to Consider

It’s one thing to talk about grace.

It’s another to trust it when we’re the ones who’ve failed.

Shame tells us to hide. Fear tells us we’re disqualified.

But Jesus doesn’t avoid those moments—he steps right into them.

He doesn’t erase the past. He redeems it.

The question is: will we let him?

What Scripture Says

Peter went back to fishing. Not because he forgot Jesus,

but because he hadn’t forgotten his failure.

Three denials still echoed in his mind.

So even after resurrection, he returned to what was familiar—

thinking maybe that was all he had left.

But Jesus meets him there. He meets them all there.

At daybreak, after another fruitless night,

the risen Christ stands on the shore. A voice calls out. The nets overflow.

Grace shows up in the same place where emptiness had taken hold.

And Peter dives into the water.

On shore, Jesus has built a charcoal fire—

the same kind Peter stood beside when he said, “I don’t know him.”

But this fire isn’t for denial. It’s for breakfast.

Jesus feeds him.

And then—three times—he asks, “Do you love me?”

Not “Are you sorry?”

Not “Will you do better?”

Just: “Do you love me?”

And with every yes, Jesus says, “Feed my sheep.”

He doesn’t just forgive Peter. He restores him.

What This Means for You

Maybe you’ve gone back to the thing you thought you left behind.

Maybe you’ve messed up, pulled away,

or convinced yourself you’re no longer usable to God.

You’re not alone. Peter felt that too.

But Jesus doesn’t meet you with guilt.

He meets you with grace.

He doesn’t ask for excuses.

He asks if you still love him.

And if the answer is yes—

then the story isn’t over.

Not for Peter. Not for you.

What This Means for Us

We are not called to be a perfect church.

We are called to be a restoring one.

A place where people who’ve messed up—publicly or privately—

are not met with shame, but with breakfast.

Where the fire doesn’t burn people down, but warms them back to life.

Jesus didn’t cancel Peter. He cooked for him. Sat with him. Called him again.

Let’s be that kind of church? Amen? Amen.

Written by Rev. Todd R. Lattig with the assistance of ChatGPT (OpenAI).