Peter stood close enough to the fire to warm himself. The night was cold, and those in the camp of the Lord's enemies surrounded him. He was alone and intimidated by those with a different view of things. He denied knowing Jesus.

The story is familiar, of course. But what about those huddled around the fire? They wanted warmth from the cool night air but denied their greater need. Moses, as a psalm writer, captured what most deny or refuse to think about: "The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away"(Psalm 90:10).

Life is a short opportunity. When it's over, we will stand before a holy, perfect, powerful judge. Like those in the courtyard, many are satisfied with temporary fires. They focus on their own comfort, their livelihood, and their families. Chilling thoughts about death and eternity can be denied.

Because they choose to deny these realities, they cannot accept the warm solution to sin and death God provided in Jesus. That night long ago, the Lord of heaven, that powerful judge, was only a few feet away. He had come to earth to give his life for sinners. He would shed his blood and die. He had already begun the way of sorrows, and the end would be an empty tomb. He promised, "Because I live, you also will live" (John 14:19).

Culture, race, time, and geography don't change this scene. The human heart by itself sees death, sin, tragedy, and misery every day but chooses to deny that God has provided a long-term solution. Instead, it warms itself at the fires of its own thinking and imagination. God's warm, eternal fire remains unimportant to it.

Today many have decided that truth does not exist. One person's faith is as good as another's. The end of each person's life is coming, but it's the journey that is important, not the end. Besides, so the thinking goes, more than one way to heaven exists, and God accepts us all. Whether the philosophy is postmodern, modern, post-postmodern, or none of the above, the warmth of these fires works only a little while. Death and judgment are realities that can be denied only until they happen.

Peter, for a time, also denied his own life's end and judgment. He became one of those stretching out his hands for warmth from a temporary fire. Then, the Lord who would suffer, die, and rise from the dead looked his way, and Peter wept. He went out—away from the courtyard fire—and wept.

Everything came into focus again. Like the other disciples he would be stunned by the empty tomb. He and John together raced to the grave on Easter morning. It was empty. Jesus was not dead. He was alive.