Wind & Fire - ReflectionsSample

Written by Javier De La Rosa - Discipleship Minister at City on a Hill Melbourne

“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.’

He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’

He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’” - John 21:15-17 (ESV)

Repetition in Scripture is rarely accidental. It is often used to highlight what is holy, weighty, and essential. Here on the shore, the risen Jesus asks Peter the same question three times: “Do you love me?” What appears simple carries profound depth. This is not interrogation, it is restoration, commissioning, and calling.

Jesus meets Peter with compassion, not condemnation. Three times Peter had denied Him; three times Jesus restores him. And each time Peter affirms his love, Jesus gives him a mission: feed, tend, care. Love for Jesus is inseparable from love for His people.

This mission reaches further than Peter himself. Jesus’ sheep include those who already know Him and those who will one day come to know Him. To love Jesus is to participate in His ongoing work, nurturing, guiding, and multiplying disciples. The gospel never ends with us; it always moves outward.

And this calling is not carried in human strength alone. The same Jesus who restores Peter will soon send the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who empowers ordinary, forgiven people to take the gospel beyond themselves to raise others up, to invest, to send, and to trust God with the growth. Multiplication flows not from ambition, but from love, received from Christ and poured out for others.

Reflect:

Based on today’s reading:

How is the Holy Spirit inviting me to respond today, for God’s glory and the good of others?

Pray:

Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me perfectly and restoring me by Your grace. Grow my love for You, and teach me to care for Your people as You do. By Your Spirit, empower me to take part in Your mission, so that others may come to know and follow You. Amen.