Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

• John 21:15-17

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

• John 10:7-18

“ ‘If you love Me’, says Jesus, ’Feed my sheep.’ ‘Don’t make converts to your way of thinking, but look after My sheep, see that they are nourished in the knowledge of Me.’ Our Lord’s first obedience was to the will of His Father, and He said, ‘As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you.’ It sounds the right thing to say that Jesus Christ came here to help mankind: but His great desire was to do the will of His Father, and our Lord was misunderstood because He would not put the needs of men first. He said the first commandment is ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.’ Jesus Christ is a source of deep offence to the educated trained mind of today that does not want Him in any other way than as a Comrade. Many do not want to be devoted to Him, but only to the cause He started. If I am only devoted to the cause of humanity, I will soon be exhausted and come to the point where my love will falter, but if I love Jesus Christ I will serve humanity, though men and women treat me like a door-mat.”

• Oswald Chambers, Daily Thoughts for Disciples (July 23, from The Place of Help)

I think C. S. Lewis’ reaction to these verses was “Feed my sheep, don’t do science experiments on them.”  The same difference.

We forget what we are kept here on earth to do.  The bottom line is to love God and love our neighbor, but then loving God means adoring God, praising God, and worshipping God.  But then, God commanded all His disciples to go into the world making disciples of Jesus Christ.  But when we break that down, there is a two-step process, maybe three steps.  Apologetics is the process in showing the unbeliever that there is a God.

Then evangelism is the process in guiding someone to the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that through Him we can be saved.

But then, once we are saved, then what?

“Feed my lambs.  Take care of my sheep.  Feed my sheep.”

Jesus was not talking about organizing a potluck dinner, but that is something that I miss.  Too many churches simply have a catered meal.

No, Jesus was talking about the spiritual food necessary to grow in faith.  Sunday school is important, but most adults do not attend, at least in the churches that my wife and I have attended over the past 40 years.  The more conservative the denomination, it seems the adults are more interested in Sunday school, but that is just my observation.  If you are going to base your beliefs on what the Bible says and not what secular society says, you might want to read the Bible.

Billy Graham may have been a wonderful evangelist, but he had a team preparing churches, in prayer, to be ready to guide new believers.  And part of the process where you went forward was another team who guided you to a local church based on your background and preferences.  Billy Graham readily admitted that he was simply a middleman in the process.

But whether we are the apologist, or the evangelist, or a person dealing with pastoral care, or a Sunday school teacher, we need to understand that all are required, and it is in God’s hands to convict the person of their sins so that they know they need Him.  We must be receptive, in our role, to serve the person and serve God.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.