Thought for Wednesday, May 8th

May 8, 2013

Feed The Sheep

    Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.  He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

John 21:13-17

“It is by acts and not by ideas that people live.”

-          Anatole France

An intriguing and possibly often overlooked fact in the passage above it the directive that Jesus gave to Peter:  He told him to feed His sheep.

In this instance Jesus did not instruct Peter to go out soul winning:  Though that is a worthy endeavor to undertake.  After all we know that those who win souls are considered to be wise.

Jesus, however, in this instance told Peter to minister to the sheep.  The sheep are those who already believe.

Hence, this would lead to the drawing of the following conclusion:  as disciples our responsibilities go beyond going into the whole world to preach the gospel: we must also minister to those who already believe.  We must teach, instruct and facilitate their spiritual growth in any way we can: following the scriptural directive to build each other up in our faith.

It is not enough to just evangelize: though that is a worthwhile and often daunting task, in and of it’s self.   We need to minister to the needs, the hurts and the lives of those who are among the flock as well.

We are not converted from a goat to a sheep, figuratively speaking, only to be put out to pasture and be forgotten: God has a heart for every goat but He also has a heart for every sheep and so should we.  

Prayer:

Father, sometimes we get so focused on reaching out to those without we forget to reach out to those within:  help us to never ignore or abandon any soul whether lost or found: keep us faithful to minister to the needs of all those we encounter.