JANUARY 6, 2015
Mistakes
Made Beautiful
Read: Luke
22:39-51
[Jesus] touched his ear and healed him. —Luke
22:51
Early in his career,
jazz player Herbie Hancock was invited to play in the quintet of Miles Davis,
already a musical legend. In an interview, Hancock admitted being nervous but
described it as a wonderful experience because Davis was so nurturing. During
one performance, when Davis was near the high point of his solo, Hancock played
the wrong chord. He was mortified, but Davis continued as if nothing had
happened. “He played some notes that made my chord right,” Hancock said.
What an example of
loving leadership! Davis didn’t scold Hancock or make him look foolish. He
didn’t blame him for ruining the performance. He simply adjusted his plan and
turned a potentially disastrous mistake into something beautiful.
What Davis did for
Hancock, Jesus did for Peter. When Peter cut off the ear of one of the crowd
who had come to arrest Jesus, Jesus reattached the ear (Luke 22:51), indicating
that His kingdom was about healing, not hurting. Time after time Jesus used the
disciples’ mistakes to show a better way.
What Jesus did for His
disciples, He also does for us. And what He does for us, we can do for others.
Instead of magnifying every mistake, we can turn them into beautiful acts of
forgiveness, healing, and redemption.
Lord, You understand how prone we are to make
selfish and foolish mistakes. Forgive us and
restore us. Please, for Your name’s sake, use
even
the worst aspects of our lives for Your glory.
Jesus
longs to turn our mistakes into amazing examples of His grace.
Insight
Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John all record the story of Jesus’ disciple cutting off the servant’s ear
(Matt. 26:51-52; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:50-51; John 18:10-11). Only Luke mentions
the healing of the wound, and only John identifies the disciple (Peter) and the
servant (Malchus).
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
