What is failure anyway?

Reading

Mark 14.66-72

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, ‘You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’ But he denied it, saying, ‘I do not know or understand what you are talking about.’ And he went out into the forecourt. Then the cock crowed. And the servant-girl, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, ‘This man is one of them.’ But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, ‘Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.’ But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, ‘I do not know this man you are talking about.’ At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ And he broke down and wept.
Reflection

Perhaps the worst thing is to be a “failure”. To wear it as a garment that can’t be taken off, to have this label at the heart of your identity feels so final. That’s how many of us respond when things go wrong. We leapfrog over “I have failed” straight to “I am a failure.”

People are, of course, so much more nuanced than that. We are much more than one action, or one thought, or one sentence. We are a complicated muddle of doing well, doing badly and being somewhere in the middle of the flux.

Take Peter, for example. Peter failed on a huge scale. He denied Jesus three times, after totally denying that he would deny him! And yet that same Peter – cowardly, dishonest Peter – became one of the great pillars of the Church. Was he a failure? Yes, and no. More importantly, he was forgiven, and loved, and defined by God.

Challenge

Make a list of the things you think define you – builder, nurse, artist, son, mother, carer, runner, singer, etc.

How do you think God defines you?