- Jan 14, 2006
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"Love'st thou me? Feed my sheep - John 21:16
The new day that was dawning for Simon Peter brought to him a new responsibility. 'Lovest thou me? Feed my sheep.' God never lets love lie idle. I do not know what setback/failure has marked your life, but if you have sought forgiveness and confessed your sin; if deep down in your soul you love your Lord and you know your need of Him, God will have a task for that love to do
I do not think many church vacancy committees would have considered Peter a suitable candidate for a Pastoral position in the church. Yet when the hour struck for the most important and vital sermon to be preached in all the long history of God's dealings with men, it was Peter who was inspired by God, to fulfil that ministry.
I marvel - don't you - at His grace, at His mercy, at His love! We used to sing this verse of an old hymn -
"O hope of every contrite heart, O joy of all the meek: To those who fall how kind thou art, How good to those who seek".
Do not judge God's forgiveness by man's forgiveness. It would seem that some Christian folk have a message of forgiveness to the unbeliever, but they have no message of forgiveness to the believer. I am glad that God has!
'To those who fall how kind thou art.......' Peter, Christ was kind to you; and He still is - kind, infinitely kind. No wonder Peter when you came to write your letter, and the memory of the wonder of the love of Jesus once again searched your soul to its depths, you put in those two piquant words of counsel to the Christians to whom you wrote: "Be pitiful' - be kind, for He was kind and pitiful to me. Yes a new day was to bring with it a new responsibility!
The new day that was dawning for Simon Peter brought to him a new responsibility. 'Lovest thou me? Feed my sheep.' God never lets love lie idle. I do not know what setback/failure has marked your life, but if you have sought forgiveness and confessed your sin; if deep down in your soul you love your Lord and you know your need of Him, God will have a task for that love to do
I do not think many church vacancy committees would have considered Peter a suitable candidate for a Pastoral position in the church. Yet when the hour struck for the most important and vital sermon to be preached in all the long history of God's dealings with men, it was Peter who was inspired by God, to fulfil that ministry.
I marvel - don't you - at His grace, at His mercy, at His love! We used to sing this verse of an old hymn -
"O hope of every contrite heart, O joy of all the meek: To those who fall how kind thou art, How good to those who seek".
Do not judge God's forgiveness by man's forgiveness. It would seem that some Christian folk have a message of forgiveness to the unbeliever, but they have no message of forgiveness to the believer. I am glad that God has!
'To those who fall how kind thou art.......' Peter, Christ was kind to you; and He still is - kind, infinitely kind. No wonder Peter when you came to write your letter, and the memory of the wonder of the love of Jesus once again searched your soul to its depths, you put in those two piquant words of counsel to the Christians to whom you wrote: "Be pitiful' - be kind, for He was kind and pitiful to me. Yes a new day was to bring with it a new responsibility!