“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 21:17 NIV)

I would not suggest that focusing our efforts and attention on loving God in one single way only would be the correct way to go about things.  The Bible tells us that we are to love the Lord by keeping His commandments, by offering Him praise and thanksgiving, by worshiping Him in truth and spirit and by abiding in Him.  And in John 21:17, Jesus personally tells Peter how He can show His own love for the Lord; “Feed my sheep”.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t consider being called a sheep in any way complimentary.  Even so, I have to admit that the metaphor that Jesus is using is accurate.  Like sheep we are easily led astray, often not very bright, subject to herd mentality and not very able to defend ourselves against our most dangerous predators (the evil one and those that belong to him).  Jesus, being Creator God made flesh, knows us well enough to know that we are going to need a lot of help.

We require constant care and feeding, both physically and spiritually.  And although our parents or other responsible adults will most often make sure that we are cared for physically until we can take care of ourselves, spiritual parents are much harder to find, just as they were in Jesus’ day.  Spiritual parents are more commonly referred to as disciples, and that is exactly what Jesus was building in the men and women around Him.  He was making the first disciples, those who would go on to build His church.

And that brings us back to Peter.

Peter had been tested and in that he failed.  He denied Jesus three times and was deeply sorry.  Through that experience he learned something about himself, about the nature of man and about the love and forgiveness of His Lord.  And now that very same Jesus was standing before him asking him to take his knowledge, wisdom and experience and use it to serve others.  Jesus was asking Peter to become a spiritual parent to many and we know from his writings that he did just that.  Peter’s words, inspired by God, are feeding us still in the form of his epistles in the Bible.

We all have experiences that need to be shared with others.  We all have some way in which we can serve one another and in doing so, bring light to our houses.  Jesus’ words for Peter are the same words that He uses for us today; “if you love me, feed my sheep”.  Use what you have learned and have been given and be a blessing to those around you.  Feed His sheep and in doing so, show your love for God to be real and active.