from John 21:15-25

One morning after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples at the Sea of Galilee; and after they had joined Him at breakfast, He began to tell Simon Peter of things that were yet to be.

To begin with, Jesus asked Peter if He loved Him and, by asking three times, to what extent. Peter answered each time that Jesus knew that He loved Him, so he wondered what all of this meant.

Three times, Peter had denied the Lord when Jesus had been taken into custody before His trial. So it seems this was the Lord’s way of reaffirming Peter’s commitment after that time of denial.

After each question about his love, Jesus said, “Tend My lambs; shepherd, and tend My sheep.” These were the Lord’s directions to Peter, for the days ahead, that He knew He could now trust him to keep.

Then He said that when Peter was younger, he had been free to walk whatever path he’d chosen to take; but when he would become old, he would be led by others to a destiny he wouldn’t choose to make.

Contemplating what Jesus said, Peter asked about the future of John, for instance, just having looked his way. We can take from Jesus’ answer that we must simply follow the Holy Spirit for our own lives after we pray.

Jesus told Peter, “Follow Me!” And today, He is saying the same to each of us, so we must listen for His voice. Then, when we hear and follow Him, even if we’re reviled and persecuted for His sake, we can rejoice.

So often, what may seem hard turns into a pathway of great blessing for others and ourselves, as well. Jesus will never leave us or forsake us. In trusting Him as our Good Shepherd, all fears will be quelled.

P. A. Oltrogge

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” words of Jesus in Matthew 5:11-12

postscript:

At the end of the chapter, John made a comment on all of the other things that Jesus had done–and that the world itself couldn’t contain all the books that could be written about God’s Son.

Books have been written, too, about the lives of those who followed the Lord in their journeys here on this earth. Their lives were a testimony to a life yielded to Christ, which is a life lived to its highest worth.

Of special interest:

Be blessed by viewing the testimonies of 
Albert and Cecily Kelln presently featured 
at www.awmi.net and other stories there.