by Erin Reuland, Director of Membership and Wellness, YMCA Metro Tampa Florida
We have all seen or experienced different kinds of caring love whether it is the protective care of a parent, the patient care of a friend, or the passionate care of a significant other.
God’s loving care for us shows up in these and many other ways.
Furthermore, he calls us to show our love for him in return by caring for others.
This is what Jesus did when he called the disciple Peter to a breakfast of fish on the beach at the sea of Tiberius.
During a visit to the Holy Land, I stood on that same beautiful shoreline, and I can imagine Jesus kneeling on that sand next to the fire he started, questioning Peter.
Jesus asks three times, “Do you love me?” and each time, Peter responds, “Of course.”
Jesus is asking if Peter loves him using a very specific word: agape.
So, in other words, “Do you love me unconditionally?” Do you care for me as I care for you?
Imagine caring for someone enough to forgive them after they pretended not to know you while being condemned to death.
And not only do you forgive them (without them explicitly apologizing, I might add), but you entrust them with the most important thing in the whole world to you.
For Jesus, the eternal Good Shepherd, the most important thing to him is his flock.
And he asks Peter to dedicate his life to caring for them; it won’t be easy and will end up costing him his life in the end.
Just like Peter, Jesus wants us to sacrificially tend to his flock, like a shepherd does for his lambs.
He wants to know how we love him.
The best way to show him is by caring for others, especially those who feel lost from the rest of the flock.
Caring for one another is easy when it’s convenient.
But agape looks different.
It requires us to reach beyond our comfort zone to those who are different and disagree with us.
It means offering forgiveness, especially when it is difficult.
Caring is not always convenient; caring is not always comfortable.
It requires sacrifice and expects nothing in return; like living stones, it is not normal.
But we are not called to be normal or to care when it’s convenient.
We are called to lead, care and serve like Jesus.
“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.”
Gospel according to John, 21.15 NIV
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