Deeper Life #261

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.

—John 21:15

I THANK GOD THAT IN MY boyhood and early manhood I had to work hard at so many things. I did not like it at the time, but I am very thankful I had to do some shepherding in the highlands of Scotland. When you have to carry across your shoulders a dirty old ram and bring it down the mountainside, you will know whether shepherding is poetry or not. You will know that it is the most taxing, the most exhausting, and the most exasperating thing you can do.

Jesus Christ uses shepherding to illustrate our passion for souls. A quiet, judicious knowing how to do it won’t do it. Only an indefatigable passion will do it.

To whom did Jesus say, “Feed My lambs”? To Peter. Who was Peter? A very wayward sheep. Peter had not only forsaken Jesus Christ; he denied he ever knew Him, with oaths and curses. Do you think, after he received the Spirit of God and was personally, passionately devoted to Jesus Christ, that anybody would have such patience with young converts as Peter? Who else could have written, “Feed the flock . . . taking the oversight . . . not for filthy lucre”? (1 Peter 5:2). Peter had learned through his own experience how to be patient, how to be tender, and how to be full of grateful watchfulness over all the Lord’s sheep.

Prayer Thought: With joy and delight I will “feed your lambs,” Lord Jesus, and do so out of real love for them.

SUGGESTED READING: John 21:15–19