“‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep'” (John 21:15)
At the end of the gospel according to John, Jesus has a conversation with Peter. Peter denied Jesus three times on the night of Jesus’ arrest. To reinforce how much Jesus loves Peter, he allows Peter to reaffirm his love for Jesus three times. It is an act of amazing grace.
But that’s not what grabbed my attention today. What I found startling is what Jesus said to Peter after he affirmed his love for Jesus. Each time Jesus responds by saying, “Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep.” Each time Jesus tells Peter that the way to go about loving Jesus is by feeding and tending to Christ’s sheep.
If we love Jesus, we are a blessing to Christ’s sheep. We feed and tend to the sheep that belong to Jesus. In essence, you cannot love Jesus without loving and being a blessing to his sheep.
This is a fantastic reminder. It is easy to get caught up in the fact that we are no where near the end of this pandemic. It is already feeling long and exhausting. Yet, particularly in situations like this, Jesus continues to ask, “Do you love me more than these?” And if our answer is in the affirmative, then we are in the business of feeding and tending to Christ’s sheep.
So the question each of us is being asked is: “What is your plan to tend to, feed, and bless my sheep today?”
I encourage you to make a plan to be a blessing to people today and write it down so you can see at the end of the day whether we did what we set out to do.
Praxis: Faith in Action 