He sat at the sea shore, peering out at the weary fishermen sitting in a near-bye boat pulling in their nets. They were oblivious to the blaze of a warm fire he had kindled and unaware of the fish on his man made spit.
He surveyed the tired slump of their shoulders as their voices echoed across the sea, barking orders back and forth at one another, sometimes joking and jostling one another in the boat to cut the tension that was among them. It had been a long night and they were discouraged to go home and have nothing to sell and nothing to offer at the dinner table..
"Cast it to the other side" the man called out from the shore. They turned to the voice, eyes surveyed the intruder from a distance, almost mockingly they responded..."We have fished all night and caught nothing..." " Cast it to the other side" the man called again. The men looked at one another, a couple of them snickered under a weary breath, a few others murmured, more than ready to go home, and the few remaining shrugged, pulled up the weight of the heavy linked net, and threw it to the opposite side of the boat, and waited.
The buoys sunk bobbing once, then twice and then suddenly entirely submerging. Shocked they hurried to the edge of the boat and began pulling in the nets, fish were flopping about in a frenzy to be released, as they tugged the boat shifted from the weight.Incredulous, they looked at one another in in wide eyed shock, this was more fish than they had seen in any catch! A massive bounty that just kept coming, it seemed to be impossible since they had been fishing in that exact same spot all night to now catch fish that had been apparently just avoiding the nets- it was as though God himself had suddenly blessed them .. Recognition hit them with a sudden rush of understanding- It was the Master!
Peters eyes immediately teared up, he peered in the distance, it was Jesus! almost without thought he threw on his cloak and tightened it snugly on his waist, and jumped over the wobbling boat. and swam to shore...
Drenched and chilled a re-energized Peter stood before Christ and embraced Him. Something so amazing could barely be fathomed, it was almost a dream to Peter, it WAS Jesus, truly! He had died, breathed his last, and Peter had shamefully slunk into the shadows and watched..and now he was ushering Peter towards the warmth of the fire and the crisp enticing aroma of fresh fish..the reality of the fish so long labored for, and uncaught , and the fish offered to him so readily, dimmed in comparison to the miracle of the Savior now standing before Him.
Drip,drip, drip, Jesus pulled Peter towards a large rock nearest the fire and spoke to him.
"Peter, Do you love me, (sacrificially, and fully )?"Yes Lord, you know I do" Peter said without hesitation.
Jesus threw a stick towards the fire. "Feed my sheep"
Peter recalled the lessons Christ taught to the 5 thousand, waiting on a mountainside hungry, as the sunset began to fade, a crowd of boisterous voices stirred the atmosphere as the passing baskets of fish and bread were distributed. Miracles are what Christ did, and he had seen so many... Drip, Drip, drip.
"Peter, Do you Love me( sacrificially and truly?)" Peter looked in Jesus eyes confused that he had asked him the same exact question yet again. Frustration tinged with a little guilt were laced in his response " Yes Lord, you know I do". The glance of two close friends passed between them, and moments of silence filled with tension now crackled in the air. Drip, drip, drip..
Peter remembered as story after story, parable after parable began to fill his mind, so many lessons, so much restoration, so much depth and intensity. healing, and joy and then the deepest sorrow of the last day he had seen Jesus alive, again the tears brimmed and wet his eyelashes, forcibly restrained. He quickly ducked his head and turned from view, not wishing to face the eyes that looked at him with such love and forgiveness.. Drip, drip, drip...After all the promises Peter had made to never leave Christ's side, he had left him at the cross, denied he even knew him, he stifled the sob that that was in his throat, straightened his back, leaned towards the fire and tried to ease the discomfort of the long silence between them. He remembered the day Jesus called him the Rock,.. he was anything but a rock right now, anything but strong..
"Feed my sheep" Jesus said in a voice almost inaudible.
Peter glanced at Jesus, it was all he could bare at the moment, but he had to know, was Christ angry, dissapointed, hurt? The eyes of peace stared back at him as they always had, as they had before he had denied him, ...
Jesus had long called the people he had touched and ministered to the sheep, even gentiles..but, he did more than talk, he touched them, healed them, broke bread with them, knew them, stayed in their homes, laughed at their stories, played with the children in the meadow nearbye, he spoke of promise, and rebuked their staunch religious thinking that had caused them to not help one another, he was very much like a shepherd, who at night watched over the flocks, kept the wolves at bay, willing to give even his own life to pro..tec..t.. them Clarity... ...Drip, drip, drip....
"Peter , do you Love me, as your God? " Peter looked into the face of Christ, radiantly bathed in the last rays of sunlight, absolute love, absolute peace stood before him, Peter recalled Jesus saying "I will make you fishers of men", but today, Peter was anything but a fisher of men, in fact he was Not the rock Christ had told him he would be- Not the foundation for a church, and he was Not the Disciple, because he had walked away in fear and loss, and He was not a Fisher of men either, because right now as he sat dripping before his Savior, he had been fishing, for fish, not people. And yet, he had the audacity to say HE loved Christ, He had the nerve to sit in his dripping clothes, and say. You know I love you- but if loving meant serving Him as God...He had fallen horribly short.
Tears fell streaming down his cheeks in unchecked abandon, his voice trembled and was broken as he spoke, this time with conviction-"yes Lord, You know I love you!"
Sobs of remorse and understanding, racked his body, he was facing himself as he had failed to do anytime before, and thoughts ran through his head in rapid fire.Words are easy God, he thought, but faith is hard, I have given you words, not action, I have made your promises, but walked away, I have said I would never leave or betray you, but left you at the cross, and in the job you told me to accomplish I abandoned ship on it, and went fishing instead. Back to my old life, my old ways, my old thoughts..... I have fed no-one....Drip, drip ,drip....
Jesus stooped nearby, and poked the fire, then lifted Peter to his feet, in a gentle response he laid his hand on Peters trembling shoulders and said "Feed my sheep."
He pulled at the tunic Peter was wearing and pointed to a low hanging branch near the fire, Peter knowingly responded, and Jesus handed him his own cloak, saying "When you were a boy, you dressed yourself, you cinched your own garment tightly to yourself, ( Peter recalled doing that very thing just before he dove off the boat, with a rye smile he realized God had spoken to him, without his even knowing it in that action, for he was already in his loin cloth on the water, it would have been much easier for him to not have put on his cloak to jump in, but he had, and now Jesus was looking at his face with a half smile of amusement, tugging the garment snugger around Peters waste, and adding " but when you are old, someone else will dress you and care for you, and guide you"he said with a final glance and nod of approval.
Peter looked at his warm dry garment, and back into the masters eyes, and allowed fresh tears to fall, this time because he comprehended he was forgiven , and restored. Christ was not done with him yet! Yes Lord, I will follow you, I will die to myself and allow what you want to be fulfilled in me, I will let you be my provision, and my covering and my caretaker. I have been foolish and wandered long enough on my own, immature and lost without you, But Messiah I will learn to lead,and tend the sheep as you teach me to do, in your love, and with your grace, and because I know who to follow.
I love you Lord, I will Feed your Sheep.
This is a work of fiction, based on the Biblical story of Peter and Christ in John 21. It is meant not to be taken literally, but to increase your understanding, of traditions of Jesus era, to encourage your sense of purposing, of forgiveness, and of the great commission, and the value of souls to Christ. I pray it blesses and encourages you, For even though we are as faulted and broken as Peter, we can draw near to Christ, and let him lead us, direct us, and enlighten us, so that we can touch the lives of others more effectively!
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