We have no account of what Jesus said to Peter, nor what Peter said to Jesus.
But the fact is full of deepest comfort to all of us who so often grieve Him, that, in spite of Peter's sad denial, his risen Lord appeared to him, forgave him his sin, and restored him to his place among the others.
Thenceforward Peter became one of the most faithful of Christ's disciples; and when he preached that wonderful sermon at Pentecost, a few weeks afterwards, God gave him the honour of bringing three thousand souls to love and believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, Who was dead, but is alive again!
Many years afterwards, St. Paul mentions the name of Peter among the list of those who saw the Lord after His Resurrection. He calls him "Cephas;" but if you turn to the first chapter of St. John's Gospel, you will see that our Lord, when He makes Simon the son of Jonas one of His disciples, calls him Cephas, which means "a stone," or Peter; and I have read that Cephas means "a piece of Rock," and The Rock Itself—is Christ!
[VII. "Father's Plan"]
Now I want you to picture to yourselves an earthly father gathering his children around him before he took a journey.
He told them he would only be away a month, and at the end of that time it would be holiday time, and they could all prepare for a visit to the seaside.
He bade them get everything packed up; and he said he had engaged a house at a certain place, and had arranged with an experienced boatman to be at their service all day long.
He had hired a pony carriage for their mother, and everything was all ready when he should come home.
You can imagine how delighted the children were, and how they talked of nothing else but "Father's plan" for the whole month.