John 21:16
Lovest thou me? feed my sheep.
Three times Jesus says this phrase to Peter, until Peter got agitated. Some scholars have mentioned that perhaps it was to drill it into Peter because earlier on he had professed to Jesus that he will never depart Jesus. Yet when Jesus was arrested, Peter denied Christ thrice. Nonetheless, one of the reason why Peter was also selected to answer this question was because he was regarded as the head of all the disciples.
This is a clear mandate to all of Christians. If you say you love Jesus, Jesus is asking you to "feed his sheep". (Sheep! feed the silly, low IQ animals called mankind - I've shared about this topic in an earlier post)
We often find ourselves devoted to life's causes, programs, entertainment and activities, and so few devoted to an intimate relationship with Christ. Jesus' first obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of Men; that was the natural outcome of His obedience to the Father. The same principle is imperative in our spiritual life.
If today you look at your life and can plainly see that you are not serving the heartbeat of God, I can confidently also say that you have issues saying "Jesus, I love you truly." Not to hurl stones at your life or condemn those who are not actively serving or reaching out to the world whom God created and so loved (John 3:16), but the key purpose of this passage speaks of Jesus' commands on his disciples to show forth their love to him through the necessary actions that he desired of his disciples.
Yes, if the people whom we are called to serve are truely as frustratingly silly and stupid like sheep, I can understand how many of us would shun the job and just want to not do anything. But we're not told to shephard the sheep, we're told only to do the simple act of feeding. How can we run away from such a simple instruction for Jesus if we say we are devoted to him?
The message of Christ is not to make us busy workers in various ministries, because our devotion to Christ must take precedent over our service for Christ. This does not take away from being involved in service for Christ; rather, when HE is our foremost concern and the ONE to whom our life is devoted to. Thus, our involvement in serving will naturally follow as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit.
I liken it to falling in love, and since I'm no expert in the area of falling in love, at least I like to raise the example of having a best friend in life. Not only do we cherish the person, for the time and open communication which transpires in friendship, we would naturally offer help and express interest in any issue which the individual faces.
Thus, the overflow of our love for Christ would naturally see us doing what our Master and Lord feels for. That is why all of our service and ministry should begin with our devotion to Christ and our trust in Him, as the source of our strength and sufficiency.
We don't serve or minister with our own strength or with good intentions, that's called human charity which the world already practices. Instead, as we grow in our knowledge and fellowship with God, the Holy spirit with natually penetrate our hearts and bring us to see the heartbeat of God and teach us how to serve Him with complete reliance upon HIM.
Do you love Jesus? May your love for him lead you to feed his sheep.
Blessings,
M.
