Encouragement

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“Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”..." “Feed My sheep." ~ John 21:17

"For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust." ~ Psalm 103:14

Jesus loved Peter, even when he reverted back to being Simon, son of Jonah. As Simon Jesus knew his frame and remembered he was but dust. He knew who He was addressing. In so doing He was fostering the return of Peter in Simon. He knew what, or Who, was in Peter and sought to bring out the love that can only come through His Spirit from Simon so that he could be Peter again. As Peter he could feed Jesus' sheep. While the others might say they love Jesus Peter was going to show his love for the Lord and eventually feed His sheep.

Has Jesus done this with you? Has He asked you if you love Him? He has that prerogative. Being the Lover of our souls He has the right to ask us if we love Him, as a groom might ask His bride.

He knows my frame and remembers that I am dust. One cannot do much, just like Peter could not do much being Simon. As dust I can only be Bob. Dust makes a mess of things. As dust Simon denied Jesus. I have done the same thing as dust.

Dust also has hope; that is to say it has potential. It just needs a little help. Dust can become clay with some water. Clay can become a beautiful vessel in the right hands; loving hands. Those hands will push and prod and shape and bend simply out of love because of the vision behind those hands. Those hands come with a vision of potential. He did it with Simon and he became Peter.

Then He asked for Peter's love; something he did not know he had, even though he knew Jesus. In time Peter loved Jesus and fed His sheep.

Jesus asks you if you love Him. Peter loved Him by feeding His sheep.

I do by encouraging them, by giving them His wisdom. Robert means "bright and wise counsel". Jesus loved me and gave me a couple of gifts by which I could love Him. He did the same with anyone He has loved. Look at what is said about spiritual gifts given by the Spirit of Christ:

"But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." ~ 1 Corinthians 12:11

Each believer has at least one spiritual gift by which he can express his love for Jesus. All one has to do is find out what that gift is. If we present our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord (Romans 12:1) we will discover how we may love Jesus by loving His church with that same gift. That is how I found out what mine are.

What is your gift? How may you love Jesus?

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