“‘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.

“Therefore encourage one another and build up each other” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

It has been over almost two months since we’ve been able to worship as a church in person.

More people are telling me how difficult this social isolation is for them. There are people who live by themselves and in care facilities in our church who have not had any meaningful touch for over eight weeks – no handshake, no pat in the back, no hugs. \

This pandemic has been hard and continues to be difficult for many.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

When we focus on our own happiness we rarely experience it. However, when we focus on making a difference, making an impact, blessing others, happiness often becomes our reality.

It is true that the stay-at-home restrictions have kept us from worshiping together in person, but…

• They have not and cannot keep us from sharing our faith
• They cannot prevent us from encouraging one another
• They cannot keep us from praying for one another
• They cannot keep us from calling, from writing notes, sending letters, showing up with cookies and a note and leaving them on the door of your friends

NO ONE CAN KEEP THE CHURCH FROM BEING THE CHURCH!

Therefore, on this day, encourage one another and build up each other and be the church!

“We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8)

The potter has every right to make whatever the potter desires. So God has every right to shape and make us into whatever God desires.

This shaping and making is not a singular event that has a beginning and end but is an on-going process. As long as we are breathing God is at work to shape and make us into being more effective at demonstrating God’s love, grace, hope, and peace to the people around us.

Listen to what God tells us through the prophet Jeremiah:

“The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him” (Jeremiah 18:1-4).

God is at work today. God may be doing things differently than we had hoped, but that is God’s prerogative. God is currently working to shape and mold you into exactly what God desires for you, and because of God’s work the world will be a better place through a changed you and me.

How is God shaping and molding you today? Spend a few moments thinking about how God is at work and agree to join God in what God wants to do in and through you.

Have a great day knowing God is molding and shaping you.