How

do we understand the actions of Judas, who betrayed Jesus? In many

ways, our answer needs to be that we simply do not know. God is the

only one who sees the human heart.

As

the believers gather for prayer, Peter is prompted to speak. He

places the story of Judas within the context of Scripture. Peter puts

history under the arc of promise and fulfillment and even places what

seems so contrary to God’s plan as an event that is still within

God’s ultimate purposes.

I

don’t know how you think about not only Judas’s life but also

your own life. Each of us has chapters of our lives that we wish were

different. We all have regrets for some of the things we have done,

and we may still live under clouds of disappointment. We may even

find it ­ironic that Peter, who denied Jesus three times, just as

the Lord had predicted, is the one who now stands and speaks. But

maybe it has to be Peter.

Peter

is the one who denied his Lord even though he swore that would never

happen. We can see a picture of grace here as we watch Peter stand

and state that this chapter of the believers’ life together with

Jesus was not outside the plan of God. We may not understand it. We

may even still question it, but we can also have the hope that God

has a plan for each of us.