Craig Clouston

 The Kid and the Camaro

May 20

Feed my sheep.

John 21:17

“No way! You serious?” Benjy asked.

Kyle, his older brother, had just handed him the keys to his 1968 Z28 Camaro.

Kyle looked him straight in the eye and said, “It was always gonna be yours, kid. Just ‘cause you made a mistake didn’t mean I wasn’t gonna follow through on my promise. Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

Kyle was referring to a night six months ago when he was still in Afghanistan. Benjy had snuck the Camaro out for a joyride and had gotten stopped for speeding. His dad had made him write Kyle a letter explaining the incident. Benjy figured Kyle would be so angry that he wouldn’t follow through on his promise to give him the car when he turned eighteen.

But Kyle understood. He’d made mistakes. Looking at the excitement on his little brother’s face, Kyle had to smile. All the times he and Benjy had shared working on the car before he’d shipped out on this last tour of duty had provided precious memories while he was away. Benjy had spent more hours washing and waxing the Z than Kyle had!

He pulled Benjy’s letter from his pocket and handed it to him. “Don’t forget, but don’t let it define your future.” A look of sorrow replaced the excitement on Benjy’s face momentarily; true remorse showed he was sorry for his impulsive action.

†

Has Jesus ever reinstated you? Has He taken you back to something or someplace you have abused and given it back?

Restoring is what Jesus does. He isn’t looking to break our will, just bend it in the right direction.

Peter’s heart was right. He’d just demonstrated a streak of impetuousness that needed eradicated.

We’ve all done things that we shouldn’t have—some of them pretty serious, some of them harmful. But that’s what is so amazing about the grace of God. It cannot be outrun! It’s always there, waiting for us to fulfill our mission, waiting to restore us to a place of healing, where our impulsiveness is turned into kingdom purpose.

As in Peter’s case, he’d made mistakes. But Jesus didn’t allow it to define his future.

Prayer

“Thank You for that grace that never stops pursuing me, Lord. Help me redefine my future. Amen.”