A Fireside Chat About Faith, Failure, and Love

I have always loved having a fire in the fireplace.

There was no fire too hot or too high.

And then came the third day in January in 2021. Despite warnings from the females in the family, the males in the family were chucking all the boxes and Christmas wrappings into the fireplace. And then we heard

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOSH

Yes, a chimney fire does sound like a freight train.

When the firemen left, they suggested we burn only wood in the fireplace. A suggestion, I’m glad to report, we have carefully followed, especially since re-lining the chimney cost more than seven thousand dollars.

The fire was an epic fail.

I can’t sit by a fire today without remembering the sirens, the firetruck in the driveway, and the bitter cold we stood in until our house was deemed safe to enter.

Two Charcoal Fires

There are two fires that I’m sure Simon Peter could never forget. They are the only charcoal fires mentioned in scripture.

The first was a charcoal fire in the courtyard of the high priest who condemned Jesus to death on a cross. Peter was standing by it, warming his hands, when those in the courtyard began to repeatedly question him about being a disciple of Jesus.

“I don’t know him,” he said.

“I am not his follower,” he said.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” he said.

How things had changed! Peter had earlier boasted to Jesus that he would never deny him—even if it meant dying with him.

“Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will,” he said.

And then that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter slept while Jesus agonized over his appointment with the cross. When soldiers took Jesus to the home of the high priest, Peter followed Jesus from a distance. Then in the courtyard of the high priest, Peter repeatedly denied knowing Jesus—with oaths and curses. Just as Jesus had predicted.

At the first charcoal fire, Peter had an epic fail, and he wept bitterly over his betrayal.

But then came the second charcoal fire.

The Fire Jesus Made

This fire Jesus made. He was on the shore of Galilee after his resurrection. As dawn was breaking, he was grilling fish and watching Peter and six other disciples fishing some distance from the shore.

“Friends, haven’t you any fish?” Jesus called out.

They didn’t recognize Jesus’ voice. They were exhausted and discouraged from fishing all night without catching anything. But when Jesus suggested they throw their net one more time, they must have thought, “Why not?” So they did—and their net was so filled with fish that they could not haul it in.

“It is the Lord!” John exclaimed as the disciples finally recognized Jesus.

Peter threw himself into the sea and swam the length of a football field to shore while the others came in with the boat.

Then Jesus invited them all to breakfast. Afterwards, he pulled Peter aside and asked him if he loved him—three times.

Imagine the scene as Peter’s thoughts slowly turned to another charcoal fire and three questions about his relationship to Jesus. Instead of denying Jesus as he had previously, however, Peter reaffirmed his love for Jesus—three times.

Through his penetrating questioning, Jesus brought Peter to a painful understanding of faith, failure, and love. By that second charcoal fire, Jesus restored and reestablished Peter so that he could do the work of the risen Lord.

The wonderful news about failure is that there is no epic fail in the grace of Jesus. We, too, can repent and be restored, no matter how high or hot the fire. And then, like Peter, we can strengthen and build up the faith of others.