Jesus is Essential
John 21:17: He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
The third exhortation is “Feed my sheep”—here it has the meaning “be grazing my sheep.” You see, the sheep need feeding also.
Milton suffered the loss of a friend, a young minister, who was drowned in the Irish Channel, in crossing; and Milton wrote a poem entitled “Lycidas,” in which he made this statement: “The hungry sheep look up and are not fed.” In this line he was referring to the pulpit in his day—he might well have been writing of a future day which is ours. Let me impress it upon your heart that the acid test of any man today, either in pulpit or pew, is “Lovest thou me?”. 1
Walking with Jesus
How can you really measure your love for God? We are commanded to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. How can you evaluate if you are actually obeying this command? Perhaps the answer is found when we mediate on the words of Jesus: “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21). What captures the majority of our thoughts and time and money? Has Jesus earned a starting position in your life, or is He on the reserved squad? “Do you love Me?”
Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. Revelation 2:4–5
True love becomes real love when there is not even a hint of reciprocation.
Praying
Lord, thank You for loving me before I had any thought of loving You. I am very sorry.
1. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (John 11-21) (electronic ed., Vol. 39). Nashville.
