“Go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

— Mark 16:7

We might not like to be singled out, but many of us know what that’s like. It may be for a special honor, or it may be for doing something wrong. Either way, being singled out can be embarrassing and make us want to hide.

Peter was singled out by Jesus here. And while Peter may have gulped deeply when he heard about this, it wasn’t a bad thing. Peter had denied Jesus three times, even after saying he would never leave Jesus’ side (see Mark 14:27-31, 66-72). I can’t imagine the guilt Peter must have felt. But Jesus needed Peter to know that he was still welcome among his followers. He was still invited to the reunion in Galilee that Jesus had mentioned. In fact, he was still part of the plan Jesus had for his disciples and the whole world.

We could all make a laundry list of the many things we do that should separate us from Jesus. There are times when we do what we shouldn’t do and times when we don’t do what we should do. But none of those things separates us from Jesus and his kingdom, because his death has covered all the sins of our lives—even the ones we haven’t done yet. That’s how vast the forgiveness of God is! And when the Lord singles us out, we can be sure he is calling us to join with him.

Can you sense the Lord calling you today?

Jesus, thank you for calling us to follow you, even though we have failed you in many ways. Help us to be faithful, we pray. Amen.