He Wept Bitterly

Matthew 26:74-75 records the end of Peter's triple denial of Jesus:

Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly."

In my reading this morning, I took note of the last phrase. It is easy to look down on Peter because of his early impetuousness and his denial of Christ, as if I am better than him. But I wonder if I have the spiritual sensitivity that Peter had. When I sin, do I really recognize it as such and "weep bitterly"? Or do I just say a quick "confessional" and go about the rest of my day without thinking too much about it?

I am not saying this to commend wallowing in guilt or inflicting spiritual depression on one's self for long periods of time. Rather, Peter's weeping is a reminder to me that I am a sinner just like Peter was. And the passage raises a question. Namely, do I really repent of sin because of how bad it is in the sight of the holy God? Or do I treat sin lightly?

It would be good for many of us to do a little more bitter weeping over our sin.