Photo: Enjoying Friday night football game at Strawberry Crest H.S. last week with family. C.J. and Julianna pictured here.Thought for the Day
John 21:15-19 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. (16) 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. (17) 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. (18) Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst (dressed) thyself, and walkedst where thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee where thou wouldest not. (19) This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
What kind of love would cause someone to spend the rest of his life running in the fields chasing grungy sheep? What kind of love would cause one to yield the most basic liberty of choosing the clothing that he would want to wear for the day? What kind of love would nudge someone to accept the most extreme sacrifice of allowing another to tie him up and carry him to his martyrdom?
Jesus laid out before Peter what would seem to a careless observer a most bleak and pathetic future life, and then put the option of accepting it before Him with the command to "follow" Him. In other words, "Here it is Peter, this is what following me will mean to you--sacrifice, hardship, difficulty, obscurity; and by the way, ultimately it will cost you your very life. Now do you want to do it? If so, follow me!"
This kind of love is ludicrous. It is beyond reasonable comprehension. It is absurd! But to a soul who has caught a glimpse of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, it is simply "reasonable." This is the love that causes individuals every day to sacrifice their finances, time, and labor to further God's kingdom on this earth. It just makes sense when you come to fully accept the undeniable truth that any life that we have is only ours because it was given to us by our God, and one day we will stand before Him and give account of our use of that life.
