When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17.
Yesterday we looked at the criteria for service was love. In the Greek there are four types of love indicated by the words used; simply put, self-satisfying love, family love, friendship love, and self-sacrificing love.
In each way Peter answered yes to Jesus’ questioning. In addition to the criteria of love, He gives Peter the cause and core for his service - his job description is to feed and care for “my sheep.”
In Luke 10:27 Jesus summed up the laws of Moses with “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
The sheep and the lambs belong to Jesus, not to Peter. Many pastors forget that as the under-shepherds. We have a pastoral responsibility to take care of God’s sheep by giving them food
are many demands on the life of the pastor. I enjoy visiting and seeing people grow in the Lord. I enjoy evangelism and the fellowship of the believers. We are able to help those in need and be with the sick and dying. Yet, that is the call to all believers as we carry out the gifts together. We are ministers one to another. The primary call on my life, the core of the call, is to feed sheep by preaching and teaching the Word of God.
My objection to accepting my first pastorate was I was young and many of the believers were Christians before I was born. What could I teach them that they didn’t already know? How could I minister in my immaturity to mature believers for the most part? I could see working with youth, baby Christians and the unsaved, but how could I be a pastor to those who experienced a walk with Jesus for decades and knew the Bible?
My answer came from these words,” Feed my lambs.” “Tend my sheep.” “Feed my sheep.”. The message the Lord spoke was, it doesn’t make any difference how old sheep are they still need food. It doesn’t matter what type of delicious food they received; they still need food. The core of my call was simply serving the Lord by taking the Word of God and telling people what it says and God will do the rest. Would I be willing to do that? My answer was “Lord use me.” Sometimes that word is instruction. Sometimes it is correction or rebuke. Sometimes it is training in righteousness, but it is the Word that gives us growth and maturity.
Keep feeding on the truth of God.
Lord, teach me to think of the needs of others. Thank you for the order You have placed in your church as we all do our part. Truth is shared from one to another in an effective way, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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