YES LORD!!!

to reconcile - to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent; restore

God really pulled together a lot of teachings I've recently heard with this passage from Scripture:

When Jesus is facing death on the cross, Peter denies knowing Christ 3 times. But later on, in John 21:15-25, Christ reconciles Peter to Himself... 3 times! He asks Peter 3 times if he loves Him; and 3 times Peter gets to reply "YES, LORD! You know it!"
Sometimes I think I wish Jesus would give me the opportunity to be restored that way. But this example in the Bible is just a real-life illustration of what Christ does for us. The true restoration has already been received -- in His death and resurrection, and my salvation -- and it's just my "human way" to think that I want to do something (or could ever do anything!) worthy of restoring myself to Christ.

And the truth is, we mess up and we often don't see immediate consequences for our sin. That's why we need accountability from other Christians. It's also where our LOVE for the Lord shows up... in our loyalty and obedience to Him to turn from that sin and allow Him to reconcile us to Himself... fall after fall... 3 times or 300 times... I think I've already hit that mark.
But God will use us, like He did Peter, no matter what we've done, as long as we don't turn away. And He will give us the opportunity to shout, "YES LORD!!" when He calls us.