Jesus is Essential
John 21:16: He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
Notice this second exhortation, which, incidentally, is “Shepherd the sheep”—that is the word that is used. We want you to notice something, and this is interesting: He says, “feed” the little baby lambs but “shepherd or discipline” the sheep. In our day we have this truth in reverse; we want to discipline the young—that is our method, and we feel as if we should “teach” the old folk.
My friend, that is not His method. We are to feed the lambs and shepherd or discipline the older sheep. Do you know why? It is because the little lambs follow the sheep, hence the older sheep must be disciplined. 1
Walking with Jesus
Leadership requires both encouragement and correction. Everybody gladly receives encouragement. But only a few gladly receive correction. Receiving correction reveals the heart of a person. Will there be humility? Will there be repentance? Or will there be a spirit of retaliation? Shepherding the sheep is not for the faint hearted or for those seeking to please people more than pleasing Jesus. The goal is to see healthy sheep reproducing healthy sheep. Are you reproducing your anger and malice in the life of your family and friends, or are you reproducing a humble heart that is bearing the fruits of holy living? Are you willing to correct one who maligns a shepherd? Are you committed to the call of God to disciple healthy sheep towards holy living with encouragement and correction? How well do you receive correction?
Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3
His rod and staff become a friend to those who follow Him.
Praying
Lord, thank You for Your loving correction. I know I belong to You, when You discipline me.
1. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (John 11-21) (electronic ed., Vol. 39). Nashville.
