John 21:15-19
When Jesus and his disciples had finished eating, he asked, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than the others do?”
Simon Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know I do!”
“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus said.
Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you!”
“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus told him.
Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter
was hurt because Jesus had asked him three times if he loved him. So he
told Jesus, “Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.”
Jesus
replied, “Feed my sheep. I tell you for certain that when you were a
young man, you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But
when you are old, you will hold out your hands. Then others will wrap
your belt around you and lead you where you don’t want to go.”
Jesus said this to tell how Peter would die and bring honor to God. Then he said to Peter, “Follow me!”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
This
is one of my favorite passages in the Bible…and one of the most
important passages for us as true Disciples of Jesus. It is especially
fitting today as I think about a dear, sweet servant who I have
referenced many times in these devotionals - Mrs. Peggy Logan. Mrs.
Peggy went to be with Jesus this week. This faithful octogenarian
devoted much of her life to the feeding of Jesus’ sheep. She and her
husband, Wilford, adopted a baby – and you would never have known that
Paul was not her own flesh and blood. She reveled in his
accomplishments…and those of her three grandsons and their children.
When
Paul was a child, Mrs. Peggy often took in other children in the church
and community for a few days or more when their parents were in need of
a babysitter. One friend recalled to me this week how she and her two
brothers spent a few nights at Mrs. Peggy’s when they were little and
her parents had to be away. She marveled at how Mrs. Peggy – a
then-single-mother with a job as the church secretary – managed the care
of four little children for a few days!
In later years, Mrs.
Peggy cared for her mother-in-law when her health declined. She would
often tell me how NO ONE from Mrs. Logan’s church called on her. Mrs.
Peggy vowed that this would never happen again on her “watch.” So she
made it her “mission” to visit, cook for, telephone, and support others
in any and every way at her disposal. To say that Mrs. Peggy was a
human dynamo would be an understatement. Even in recent years, she
maintained a calendar that would make most 30-somethings faint with
exhaustion. She was a tremendous role model - and an example to all of
us that we can do more!
I will be the first to tell you that I will probably never be a “Mrs. Peggy”…but I can
do more to share the love of Christ with others. I can be more attuned
to the people around me…the needs right here in my own circle of
influence that are begging to be met…the “sheep” that need to be “fed.”
I can look around at those who feel isolated and forgotten…the grieving
who have been left behind as those who rushed to comfort them early on
move on with their lives…those who are sitting with someone who is ill –
and wondering if anybody cares…the families whose lives are so harried
with the “busyness” of life and could use a “you’re doing a great job”
pat on the back or a note of encouragement…the elderly who feel like
life has moved on without them – and they are merely marking time until
Jesus calls them home…the children who simply need a hug and someone to
say, “You matter!”
There are SO MANY opportunities for us to feed
the sheep of Jesus. Our life as Christians is not just about adding to
God’s Kingdom…we have to nurture those who have already given their
hearts to Christ! Too often, we rush to get to the next person…to “add
one more to the flock”…and we totally forget the sheep we already have.
Jesus would NEVER do this…and neither should we! Look around you…which
sheep need your love and care today? Mrs. Peggy totally “got” this
scripture passage – and I know that Jesus must be mightily pleased with
her earthly efforts. I want Him to be pleased with mine, also. What
about you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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