Hungry

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."
~John 21: 15

The encounter Jesus had with the disciples in the last chapter of John is one that has always been intriguing and hopeful to me. The chapter begins with this scene: the disciples are out in their boat fishing and Jesus is standing on the shore yet the disciples do not realize that it is Jesus. Jesus asks them if they've caught anything and they tell him no. He tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat and then they will find some fish. When they did as he told them, they caught so many fish they were not able to haul all of them in. Immediately, the disciples knew that it was Jesus they were talking to.When they reached the land, there was a charcoal fire with fish and bread layed out on it. Jesus told them to bring the fish that they had caught and to come and have breakfast.

There are so many different things that I love about this story, but the thing that stands out to me foremost is the concept of being fed and feeding. I can hardly imagine what it would have been like to be one of the disciples and to have been fishing that morning, having no luck, and then, all of sudden, to have the resurrected King of the world standing on the shore telling me where to throw the net! I find it interesting that after Jesus has come back from the dead, the first thing He asks the disciples to do when they recognize that it is him is to come and have breakfast. He shares a meal with them, and better yet, the story seems to imply that he cooks for them. He's the servant. His humility is astounding.

And the story just gets better and better! After breakfast, Jesus asks Peter three different times if he loves him, and each time of course Peter replies that he does. Each time that Peter affirms his love for the Lord, Jesus responds with statements like "feed my lambs", "tend my sheep", "feed my sheep". Essentially, Jesus first fed Peter. He spent time with him; he developed a relationship with him. Then, he got to the heart of the matter.

Do you love me?
Yes.
Then do what I have done for you.

I think that Jesus does the same thing for us today. If only we are willing to draw near, to cut through layers of distraction and apathy in our lives and spend time with the Lord. Let him feed us with his Holy Spirit. Get to know him for he indeed already knows us. Develop a relationship with him. Then, out of gratitude that the King wants to feed us, to know us personally, feed others with what we have been given.

We can't repay Jesus for what he has done for us, but we can show that we love him by getting to know people and developing relationships with them. We can get to know their personalities, their strengths, their weaknesses, and then we can get to the heart of the matter-Who is the ultimate Feeder? Who gives the bread and the fish to begin with? I think loving people simply, without an agenda, is a good way to spread the Gospel. I think it's what Jesus did and what he would have us do.

I'm finding that the more I am obedient to love people authentically, the more Jesus open doors for me to tell them Who creates this love and compassion inside of me. I'm finding too that as I try to love, heal, and feed my efforts heal me. I love the way Rob Bell puts it. He says, "Our standing in solidarity with the single parent, the unemployed, the refugee, our joining the God of the oppressed to work for justice in the world doesn't just make a difference for those who are suffering. It rescues us."

My prayer is that the more Jesus feeds me, the hungrier I would become for more of his food and more of his love and compassion for his sheep.