Know Before You Dig… Hello Hump Day readers. As we get closer to Holy Week, we find Jesus constantly being attacked from all sides. Even the disciples are confused–especially when Jesus tells them the path he is on will send him to death. Peter, as usual, opens his mouth and puts his foot in it saying “no, never, that can’t happen” and Jesus says “get behind me Satan.” This isn’t about Peter; those words were for Satan who daily is bombarding the disciples to create confusion. The more he can dig, the more the disciples lose their perspective. And this kind of reminds me of a true story back in November of 1975 in Mexico. Let’s look into the ‘dig’ …

75 convicted felons began digging a secret tunnel underneath a prison wall in Saltillo, Mexico.  This tunnel was designed to bring them up on the other side so they could escape and live as free men. For months they dug and made a path; then it was time to start digging upwards. It took a lot of man-power and finally, on April 18, 1976, they reached the surface. However, one thing they didn’t think about was “Is there anything close to where we digging?” Instead, they just started to dig…little did they know that they had tunneled directly into a nearby courtroom in which many of them had been sentenced! The end of the story was kind of funny: the judge could hear the banging on the floor and he had an inkling of what was going on. He told everyone to leave the room and be quiet. One by one they came up and then looked around the room. “What?” they cried. The judge came in with all the people. At first the judge laughed, patting one man for their determination. So the men did 5-highs and started to celebrate, but there was no celebrating. Instead, the judge added on more offenses by breaking the floor of the courtroom and breaking out of prison! With a quick gavel he returned all 75 men back to jail with longer sentences.

How many times does that happen with us? Just when we think we’ve reached a goal or see the light at the end of the tunnel, the light dims and the struggle begins again. It’s easy to find tempting ways to get out of it; others just wither away with apathy. That’s when the enemy comes at us stronger than ever! It’s not a place God wants us to be, it’s a prison.

Ask Peter, he can tell you when his mouth went off before he could think, the worst of it when he denied knowing Jesus. He loved Jesus and the thought of him dying was something he couldn’t fathom. He didn’t realize that we are toast without Jesus. As sinners, we can try to overcome, but the ‘tempter’ is always there to dig into our minds and hearts.

But think on this: despite his failure, Peter’s account does not end in defeat. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples and specifically addressed Peter, offering him restoration and reaffirmation of his role. In John 21, Jesus asked Peter 3 times: “When they had finished eating, Jesus spoke to Simon Peter. He said, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these other disciples love me?’ Peter answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs’.” After a short conversation Jesus then said to Peter: “Follow me!”

So what is the answer to this dilemma for us? Well, thinking of the prisoners, I would say “make sure you’re digging up in the right place!” No doubt, we feel better when we can overcome some of our sins, but what are we doing to make sure we aren’t putting ourselves in a compromising position again? We can all be a’ Peter’– we think we have it wrapped up, and this won’t happen again, but it does. In this time of Lent, the glaring sins we all have are forgiven because of the cross. Peter finally understood that when Jesus restored him. And the same is for us: Jesus restores us, forgives us, no matter what holes we dig. And here is one more thing to remember: Jesus doesn’t just forgive us, he is continuing the battle of our sin and guess what, HE WON! AMEN.