Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:10] Welcome back to another edition of the Weekday podcast. Today, I want to think about this idea of the courage to show up. And it's anchored in this verse in John 21, verse 9, where it says, when they got out on the land, this is the disciples coming in from fishing. They saw a charcoal fire already made, and fish placed on it, and bread.
[00:00:27] So I want to tell you about this charcoal fire. Now, this is not just any fire. It's the same kind of fire that Peter had been standing beside the night that he denied Jesus three times. That same smell, that same warmth, that same crackle in the dark. Now, that fire burned into Peter's memory. It's where his worst moment happened. And I'm pretty sure every time something reminded him of it, and every time he smelled smoke, every time he saw someone warming their hands over a flame, it all came flooding back. And here's what gets me about John 21. When Jesus shows up on the beach to restore Peter, he builds a charcoal fire. He could have done anything. He could have met Peter in a field, on a road, in a synagogue. But instead, he builds a charcoal fire. He cooks fish, and he invites Peter to come and eat breakfast. Why? Because Jesus isn't just meeting Peter's hunger. He's meeting Peter's shame. He's taking that exact setting of Peter's failure, and he's turning it into the setting of his restoration.
[00:01:24] He's saying, without a single word about the past. He's saying, this place, it doesn't have to haunt you anymore, because that's what love does. It doesn't avoid the painful places, but it does redeem them. And here's where this lands for both you and I. When relationships are strained, we tend to think big. We tend to think about the perfect apology, the right words, the grand gesture that fixes everything all at once. And sometimes those moments are actually needed. But Jesus models something even simpler here. He just shows up. He brings breakfast. Practical love, tangible, specific, in front of you. Love. It does more to close the gap than a hundred perfectly worded speeches ever could. Because when you show up for someone in a small, practical way, you're not just doing a kind thing. You're saying through your actions. I see you. You're saying, I'm here, and you're not alone in this. So think about your own life today. What is the small? What's the practical thing that you could do for someone else this week? Not the whole conversation, not the full reconciliation, just the next right thing. Maybe it's showing up when it would be easier to stay away. Maybe it's helping with something that they've been stressed about. Maybe it's just sending a text that says, I'm thinking about you. Don't wait for that epic moment. Love becomes believable when it becomes practical.
[00:02:42] So here's what I'd encourage you to do. Think of one specific, small thing you can do for someone you've been distant from or someone who's been hurting. Not a big gesture, just the next thing. Fix the deck. Bring coffee, show up. That's how Jesus started with Peter. Not with a lecture, but with a breakfast. Because sometimes. Sometimes reconciliation doesn't look like a big conversation. Sometimes it looks like fish and bread. Give that a try today. Have a great day. We'll see you back here soon.
