At that moment the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Luke 22:61 (NLT)
Imagine it with me. Peter is standing in the middle of a group of people hostile to Jesus and is being questioned about knowing him. I am sure he was afraid for his life. He was probably imagining the things that could/would happen to him if he aligned himself to Jesus. He denies that he knows him. He does it again and then a final time. And the rooster crowed. Now, he could rationalize a rooster crowing by saying it was just coincidence - we rationalize away God's work in our lives all the time - but he couldn't rationalize away the look in Jesus' eyes. It crushed him.
Jesus is not physically able to turn and look at us when we choose a path separate from him. We may not be able to look into his eyes but we do see him with the eyes of our heart. We know what we are supposed to do and how we are supposed to act. We choose our own comfort, our own pleasure over our relationship with God. We feel the prick of conscience when we deny his call. The problem is, we can close the eyes of our heart and ignore what we see. And we do.
Jesus eventually reconciled Peter to himself. He called him; Peter answered and went on to do great things for God. The good news is that no matter what, God always offers us grace and the chance to try again.
Father God, please help us to see you with eyes that you have opened. Help us to not turn away from the call you have placed before us and Lord, when we disappoint you, help us to run toward you, not away. Amen