THE SHORE WHERE MERCY FINDS YOU: A BLOGGER REFLECTION ON JOHN 21

 There are passages in Scripture that feel like earthquakes, shaking the ground beneath your soul. And then there are passages like John 21 — moments where heaven walks softly, where grace steps quietly into the shadows we hide in, and where Jesus meets a broken disciple at the edge of his own regret.

John 21 is not a triumphal entry.
It is not a dazzling miracle.
It is not a moment where the crowds cheer or the heavens split open.

It is something far more intimate — a Savior returning to a wounded disciple who believes he has destroyed his own destiny.

It is the chapter for anyone who has ever whispered, “Lord, I failed You. You can’t still want me.”

It is the chapter for anyone who has ever believed their worst moment disqualified them from God’s plan.

And it begins not with prayer, or preaching, or spiritual passion,
but with a discouraged man going fishing.

WHEN A HEART RETURNS TO WHAT ONCE FELT SAFE

Peter says, “I’m going fishing.”

It sounds harmless.
But broken hearts rarely use dramatic words to expose themselves. They simply drift toward the familiar — the last place they felt steady, the last identity they understood, the last version of themselves that didn’t hurt.

Peter does not miss the sea.
He misses belonging.

He goes back to the nets because they never demanded courage, faith, or confession.
They simply existed.
And right now, Peter needs something in his life that doesn’t remind him of failure.

The others follow — not out of spiritual vision, but because discouraged people attract each other when hope grows dim.

They cast nets in the dark, working the old rhythms, revisiting the old identity.

And they catch nothing.

Because when God has called you forward, the past cannot fill your nets.

THE UNRECOGNIZED SAVIOR ON THE SHORE

Morning arrives in soft gold. The water brightens. The sky opens. But the hearts in the boat remain heavy.

Then — a voice:

“Children, have you any food?”

The question is soaked in tenderness.
It does not accuse.
It does not demand.
It simply reaches.

“No,” they answer.

One word, but full of meaning:

No direction.
No peace.
No identity.
No clarity.
No sense they can still be used by God.

Jesus responds:

“Cast the net on the right side of the boat.”

Obedience often begins when the heart feels empty.

They cast the net — and the sea erupts with abundance.
Fish thrash.
Ropes strain.
Hope flickers.

John whispers the truth Peter’s heart cannot deny:

“It is the Lord.”

And Peter — broken, desperate, unable to bear distance for even one more second — jumps.

He throws himself into the water and swims toward the One he denied.

THE FIRE THAT REDEEMS MEMORY

When Peter reaches the shore, he sees a charcoal fire.

The last charcoal fire he stood beside was the one where he denied Jesus three times.
That fire marked his collapse.
This fire will mark his restoration.

Jesus does not avoid the place of your pain.
He enters it.
He transforms it.

Beside the fire lies breakfast — prepared by the risen Savior Himself:

Fish sizzling.
Bread warming.
Mercy rising in the morning air.

“Come and eat,” Jesus says.

He feeds the men who abandoned Him.
He warms the heart of the disciple who denied Him.
He gives comfort before correction, nourishment before instruction.

Grace always feeds the soul before it confronts the wound.

THE THREE QUESTIONS THAT HEAL WHAT DENIAL BROKE

After breakfast, the fire’s warmth surrounds them. The moment grows quiet. Jesus turns to Peter.

“Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”

Not “Peter.”
Not the name of strength.
Jesus meets him where he feels small.

Peter answers, “Lord, You know that I love You.”

“Feed My lambs.”

But Jesus isn’t done.

A second time.
And a third.

Each question presses deeper.
Each confession pulls shame out by the root.
Each answer breaks another chain inside Peter’s heart.

Three questions to redeem three denials.

By the third time, Peter’s voice cracks:

“Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”

And Jesus responds with calling — not only forgiveness:

“Feed My sheep.”

This is not a second chance.
It is a restored destiny.

Peter is not merely forgiven; he is recommissioned.

Grace does not return you to where you fell —
it lifts you higher than where you stood before.

THE DESTINY SPOKEN INTO A RESTORED SOUL

Jesus then tells Peter something he never expected:

One day, he will show a courage so deep that even death will not separate him from Christ.

“You will stretch out your hands,” Jesus says — a prophecy of Peter’s martyrdom.

The man who ran from danger
will one day walk into it with unshakable faith.

The man who denied Jesus
will one day glorify Him with his life.

Jesus is not punishing Peter with this prophecy.
He is honoring him.

It is Jesus saying:

“The shame you carry will never define you again.
You will become everything I always knew you were.”

And then — the words that began this journey years earlier:

“Follow Me.”

The calling is not revoked.
The purpose is not canceled.
The destiny has not died.

Peter is the only one who thought it was over.

THE COMPARISON TRAP JESUS REFUSES TO ALLOW

As they walk, Peter sees John following.
And insecurity tries to whisper:

“What about him?”

Comparison often sneaks in at the moment of restoration.

But Jesus answers firmly:

“What is that to you?
You follow Me.”

Your assignment is not his assignment.
Your story is not his story.
Your pace is not his pace.

Comparison steals joy.
Calling restores direction.

Jesus anchors Peter back into purpose:
Eyes on Me.
Feet behind Me.
Life aligned with Me.

THE GOSPEL TOO EXPANSIVE FOR BOOKS TO CONTAIN

John ends the chapter — and his entire Gospel — with these words:

“If everything Jesus did were written,
the world itself could not contain the books.”

Because the story of Jesus does not end in Scripture.
It continues in every heart He restores.
Every life He rebuilds.
Every calling He resurrects.

John ends with a shoreline because grace still walks those shores today.

WHY JOHN 21 STILL SPEAKS TO US TODAY

Because people still feel like failures.
Because believers still return to old habits when shame whispers.
Because hearts still break under the weight of regret.
Because Christians still wonder if God can use them after what they’ve done.
Because disciples still hide in familiar places when their confidence collapses.

John 21 remains because of the truth it reveals:

Jesus comes for the broken.
Jesus restores the ashamed.
Jesus resurrects calling.
Jesus rebuilds identity.
Jesus meets you where you ran.
Jesus cooks breakfast for people who abandoned Him.

And He still says,
“Follow Me.”

Peter walked into that morning convinced his story was over.
He walked away carrying the calling that helped shape the world.

And the Jesus who restored him
still restores people today.

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Your friend in Christ,
Douglas Vandergraph

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