Rooster crows (Mark 14)

I can't even begin to imagine what Peter was feeling when he heard the second rooster crow.  He had just promised Jesus that he wouldn't leave His side, and now he was denying all knowledge of Him.  He was scared and afraid, and though his spirit was willing, his body was weak.  But he knew what he had done when he heard that rooster crow: he knew he had another unfulfilled promise to his Lord.  So Peter, in the midst of huge amounts of emotion, broke down and wept.  He had held it together up to this point, but finally he realized what had happened, and he was broken.  I wasn't present to see my Savior dragged away and beaten, but I have made promises to Him that I did not fulfill.  Peter's denial of Christ reminds me of my own shortcomings in fulfilling my promises to Him; it reminds me of my brokenness and inability to be "good."  But even in light of that, it's okay.  Why?  Because I don't believe that Jesus cares so much that I attain the impossible (perfection… something we have to wait for heaven to achieve).  Instead, He wants the direction of my life to constantly be moving towards Him.  Each day I should grow closer, and as I look at my life from a year ago or longer I should see progress.  Just because Peter failed, He wasn't supposed to give up following Christ.  If the story ended with Peter weeping, we'd be discouraged.  Thankfully, we're about to see that Jesus had some very important roles for Peter to fulfill – even though Peter messed up.  What's the direction of your life?  Are you closer to Jesus now than you were last year and the years before?  We are to be in a constant forward motion towards our Savior; we must mourn over our failures and move on towards Christ.