So we do. We walk in his ways a couple of turns around the sun. We wake on morning wings to soak in the breath of God through His sweet Word and pray and live in the Spirit.
But then distractions come. Children whine or bosses complain or life crashes.
And you forget to follow.
And the forgetting births unintended sorrow. Sorrow brings frustration and before you know it the old habits are back. The old man peeks from behind the corner and takes over again.
Why do I always do this? My intentions are so pure! I want to serve and live and abide in Christ, but its just so hard sometimes. . . excuses say.
Thorns. It's the thorns that choke and pull and tug us down to the earthly cares.
The seed is planted and the love wants to grow and reach up hands toward heaven to praise and sing and seek. The growing comes and we feel so alive, so fresh, so impassioned. . .
But then the looking up changes to the looking around. Circumstances demand our attention, people question our motives, the enemy wins again.
Peter did this. When Jesus left his sight, for just a few hours, he started looking around - what do they think? Will I suffer because I know Him? And he fell, and he stumbled, and he denied he knew his Lord.
The story does not end with his (or our) failure. Oh no, the Lord does not leave him Saviorless.
He makes something beautiful from our stumbles.
"'I'm going out to fish,' Simon Peter told them." Going back to what I know, to what I'm good at.
"But that night they caught nothing." Sounds familiar.
Then, a voice in the distance, someone asking about their fish.
"No, we haven't caught any," they reply.
"Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some," he says.
It's worth a try. Obedience is always worthy of our efforts.
The nets are full and overflowing with fish.
And then they know. Their Savior is back.
He's back to where He found them, where He called them, where they first saw the light and FOLLOWED.
Peter dives in with heart and soul to swim back to the Saving One.
He's making breakfast on the shore. He's feeding their souls. He is the Bread of Life after all.
"Simon. . . do you truly love me?" Jesus says. . .three times.
"Yes, Lord You know that I love you," Peter responds. . . three times.
"Feed my sheep," the Master says. . . three times.
The thrice failing disciple, thrice restored. This time with a goal, not just to follow but to work for the kingdom. Not just to listen and learn, but to lead, to shepherd the weak, seeking ones.
We must follow our Great Shepherd, but there comes a time when we must sow and reap and care and feed. For we are the hands and feet of the Gospel. It is by our good works or lack thereof that people will see the Savior.
Perhaps that is why we fail over and over. We are content in our walking and don't seek the next step.
So let us follow and faint not, and care for the lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment