Verse of the Day 3/10

John 21:15  When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon,son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."  English Standard Version (ESV)

In today's passage, Jesus had been crucified and the disciples were together but really didn't know what to do.  Peter decided to go back to his old profession, fishing.
They had fished all night and caught nothing.  Then Jesus came back into their lives and they hauled in a great, a miraculous catch of fish.  It is at this time that Jesus asks the pointed question, do you love me more than these?  He wasn't asking if Peter loved him more than the other disciples or even the fish that had just been caught.  It was asked of the lifestyle, everything involved with it - the nets, the boats, being out on the water, the relationships and more.

It is a humbling question for us.  We are blessed with so much and if we have a job, a profession which we enjoy and find rewarding we consider ourselves, and rightfully so, to be blessed.  But is it really what defines our life, what brings us meaning and satisfaction and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives,or have we found more to this life?   Jesus is looking for devotion, asking about "competing loves".

Pastor James MacDonald writes, "But when Jesus reduced the question to "Do you love me?", He was confronting Peter's competing loves. It's as if He was saying, "You said you would never deny Me, but as soon as it got unpopular, you went down like a rock. When it cost you something and you were afraid, you ran for the hills." Jesus pressed Peter to the point of grief over his sin—the condition of heart that precedes repentance. The outcome He desired for Peter had been reached. God uses the same approach with each of us.,,,,,,Sometimes God ordains grief and suffering to pry from our kung fu grip anything that threatens His rightful rule. When something has to change, God allows a crisis to expose and eliminate our competing loves. Often He appoints pain to incinerate their influence. All competing loves must bow before the throne of Jesus Christ as Lord."

When Peter tells Jesus that he loves him, Jesus responds with "feed my lambs".  After asking two more times whether Peter loved him, Peters heart sank, remembering the three times he had denied Jesus after he had sworn that he would never deny him.  As the passage concludes Jesus gives the all important command to anyone who wants to be a disciple "follow me".

What are the "competing loves" in our lives?  What is standing in the way of feeding His lambs and following Him?  Are we willing, ready if called upon to leave the nets behind?

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

John 21:15-19The Message (MSG)

Do You Love Me?

¹⁵ After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"

"Yes, Master, you know I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

¹⁶ He then asked a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

"Yes, Master, you know I love you."

Jesus said, "Shepherd my sheep."

^17-19 Then he said it a third time: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, "Do you love me?" so he answered, "Master, you know everything there is to know. You've got to know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I'm telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you'll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don't want to go." He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, "Follow me."