I don’t know about you but I love myself a good breakfast on the beach. Eating pancakes, sausage and eggs with a cold glass of orange juice, or a hot cup of coffee. It’s also even better when you are with a special person or friend to share it with. There’s nothing like watching the sunrise, worshipping God and saying good morning to the sunshine and the blue skies or as my eight year old daughter would say, “Good morning sunny and bluey.” Ah, the summertime is finally here, and if you live in Orlando, Florida like I do, there’s really nothing to do outside but fry eggs on the sidewalk, or melt in the hot sun waiting for five hours to ride your favorite Disney ride.  So, I’d rather go to the beach.  For me, there’s nothing like getting the chance to escape reality, to refresh the soul by listening to the soothing music of the ocean waves, the sights, the sounds, the smell of the air, it just makes me feel closer to God. I feel like a child again enjoying God’s playground in the sand. Not so long ago as I’m writing this, Memorial Day Holiday kicked off the summer. I saw many of my friends on Facebook, post pictures of themselves at the beach.  There was one Facebook post that really caught my eye. It said, “while I’m enjoying my weekend at the beach, I will never forget those who sacrificed their lives on a beach for my freedoms”.  The post was in regards to the D-DAY invasion where our American troops first set foot on European sand to combat Hitler and his evil regime.  If you ever want to get a realistic look at what these men went through for us, watch the opening scene to the movie “Saving Private Ryan”.  It is a very painful but powerful re-enactment of what actually happened. This moment on the beach was such a pivotal point in the war, that it helped turn the tide in the Allie’s favor and eventually led us to winning the war.  It’s so vital we always remember their sacrifice or else we will forget and take our freedoms for granted. As I was thinking about this, I also thought about another pivotal moment in history that also happened on a beach. This major event also has huge implications for us as believers in Christ. It was actually a breakfast on the beach. Not just any breakfast though.  That’s right, in fact it’s found in the New Testament, of the Gospel of John. The famous breakfast on the beach between Jesus in His resurrected body and the now disgraced disciple Peter.  Why is this so important?  To give you a quick background, Peter had just done the unthinkable sin.  On the night that Jesus was crucified, Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. Just as Jesus predicted, the rooster crowed and Peter after remembering what Jesus told him, ran away to hide and wept bitterly.  This same Peter who would do anything for Jesus, even cut off the ear of the guard trying arrest Jesus, was now a coward, hiding away in his shame.  I’m sure Peter thought to himself, there is no way that Jesus would sit down to share a meal with him, especially after he betrayed Christ and claimed he never knew him.  However, Jesus invited Peter to share a meal regardless. There’s a wonderful exchange between Jesus and Peter. If you only read it in the English language, you’ll miss out on the truth of what is really going on. Jesus asks Peter do you love me and Peter tells him he loves him. Jesus then tells Peter to feed his lambs.  But what’s interesting here is that the Greek translation for love that Jesus speaks about is the word “agape” and that means unconditional love.  The greatest love someone could ever have for another. Yet the word that Peter uses to express his love for Jesus is the word “Phileo”. It’s where we get Philadelphia from and it is a lesser love than “agape” but still a deep love, more of a brotherly or friendship love.  Again this important exchange is repeated with Jesus using “agape” for love and Peter using “phileo.”  Finally,  Jesus says to Peter “do you phileo me?” And again Peter says “ I phileo you Lord”.  I believe that the reason Jesus asked Peter these questions is that He was testing his heart. Remember,  Peter was always the one who was the first to say that he’d die for Christ, or the first to jump out of the boat and walk on water. Jesus even had to rebuke him for saying he would never let Christ die. Jesus had to literally say, “get thee back Satan”.  It’s not that Peter didn’t love Jesus but his intentions sometimes were not that pure. It was more about Peter sometimes than it was about Jesus.  It was more about Peter wanting to prove that he’s the greatest disciple who really loved Jesus the most. So, Jesus wanted to test him and see if it was still that same Peter He was dealing with. But I believe that after all that Peter went through, he was eventually humbled and all he could say was “I phileo you”.  We see that his heart truly had changed. In essence, Peter was saying to Jesus, you know I can’t unconditionally love you Lord. I can’t and I never will be able to. That’s huge for Peter to get to that point of humility and to admit this. Peter had finally understood his need for a Savior. Peter had to get out of the way for Jesus to finally be able to really use him.  Sometimes too many of us think we can live for God but the truth is we can’t. We will only end up making it about ourselves instead of Christ. It’s when we finally get to the point of humility, where we realize we need His unconditional love more than He needs us, that we will discover, we will do much more for the kingdom of God than we could ever do in our own strength.  Peter’s relationship and his ministry was reinstated that day and it was not because of anything Peter did, but simply because of Jesus and His “agape” love for him. So, if you find yourself on the beach this summer, take a moment or two, to remember that interaction between Jesus and Peter. If it wasn’t for that breakfast, there wouldn’t have been more than three thousand people in the book of Acts giving their lives to Christ in one day, all because of the boldness of Peter. That same man who denied Christ was now front and center declaring not his love for God but God’s unconditional love for him and for all of mankind.  This man’s heart, his humility and fervor for God, sparked the movement of Christianity and it’s been going strong ever since.  So, the next time you find yourself at the beach, think of this.   As you play in the sand and listen to the ocean waves, listen also to the voice of Jesus declaring His unconditional love for you and remember the sacrifices of the men and women like Peter, who came before us and gave their lives for the gospel, so that you and I can enjoy our freedoms in Christ today.   Who knew that all of this would be made possible for us, all because Jesus took the time to serve Peter a little breakfast on the beach.  And still to this day, Jesus calls out to us sinners to partake in this breakfast. A breakfast served up with unconditional love and grace, a breakfast of champions and all we have to do is sit with Him and eat.

John 21:12 New Living Translation (NLT)

12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said.