In the back of the Bible that I have used for devotions for more than thirty years, I found a note I had once written to myself. It says, “It takes more than saying you love someone; you have to show them!” Next to it is the reference John 21:15-19, which says, 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. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
I love the messages in this passage of Scripture because it can apply to so many aspects of our lives. Jesus reinforced the point that anyone can say “I love you” but that we should also SHOW it. In this passage, Jesus started out with instructions to …Feed my lambs. Lambs are baby sheep that are less than a year old. Here, we are being reminded that Jesus loves the young ones and wants us to care for their needs. We should pay attention to the cues of the young Christians around us in the same way.
When the baby cries in hunger, we feed him. When the baby Christian is crying out in hunger, do we recognize it? Are we there to help feed him? When toddlers are learning to dress themselves, we guide them. We do not deliver judgment and reproach but a demonstration of how to do it correctly. When the new Christian does not show up dressed in a way that meets our personal standards, how will we respond? Will we judge or guide?
Jesus does not want us to stop with the lambs, though. After Peter’s profession of love, He next instructed Peter to …Feed my sheep. He wants us to show our love to the older Christians as well. We never outgrow the need to be loved and to love.
Jesus continued to press Peter about his love. Upon Peter’s third profession, Jesus told Peter, …Follow me. Again, this shows that there is distinct action needed to show our love. We are to follow Him. To me, Jesus was emphasizing the point that, instead of following the crowd, we are to follow His example by looking to Him as our measure of doing good. Proverbs 27:17 says, Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. We should encourage our fellow Christians. We should show them our love in such a way that their faces reflect the love they feel from us as we follow Him. We must show our love and not just declare it.
With the example of God’s unending and unwavering love for us and clear instructions from His Word on how to love, let us all ask ourselves one question: How have I shown my love for God today?
by Melissa Caperton
