John 21:15-16 (ESV)
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.”
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to tend to His sheep—and we will do this if we truly love Him. Tending to the sheep of Jesus means caring for and nourishing those around us. Here, nourishing doesn’t just require providing people in need with food or money, as the Lord leads; it means feeding their souls.
In today’s culture, we find countless causes: feeding the homeless, saving the environment, and many more. Men, we can’t let good causes replace the assignment that Jesus has given us. If Jesus is not the center of our cause, then the cause is about something we want to do rather than what Jesus wants to do through us.
As men, we all have the opportunity to be the shepherd of our own flock, so to speak. In many cases, this flock consists of our family members, friends and even co-workers. Jesus, the Master Shepherd, not only feeds and clothes His sheep, but He also loves them, guides them, and takes away their sins. When He died on the cross, He paid the ultimate price for the sins of His sheep. While we don’t have to die on a cross for the sheep that the Lord has put in our circle of influence, we are called to disciple them. Sad is the day when causes become bigger than God’s calling on our lives. Our calling as Christ followers is to feed His sheep, not just with food but with the very Word of God, the Bible—which is a lamp unto the feet and a light unto the path of believers, while saving non-believers from the clutches of hell.
Matthew 4:4
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
God doesn’t just care for us in this temporary life, a life that leads to eternal damnation if we never place our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. He not only provides for us and saves us while we’re here on earth, but His provision stretches from this life into eternity.
Consider this: Sad is the day when our causes lead us to take care of people with earthly needs, only for those same people to spend eternity in hell.
Causes often focus on what we can do for others, and causes tend to promote the leaders who support them. However, true shepherds focus on how God wants them to feed the sheep even when no one is looking. Feeding the flock means feeding, providing, and—most importantly—loving. Men, true love starts with wanting God’s will for others, rather than just wanting our own will for them.
Luke 10:27
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love in this verse means not only being friendly but also expressing your love by feeding people with both spiritual and physical food, knowing that it is the very thing that gives you an opportunity to disciple them and show the love of Christ. All of us who know Jesus as our Savior know how good God has been to us. His love and gift of grace toward us cannot be measured. How are we taking the gift of the cross and passing it on? Are we more about the cause of man or the cause of Christ? It’s not the will of God for anyone to die in their sins.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Men, the question is this: If we have been given such a great gift of salvation, are we willing to pass it along? When Jesus fed the 5,000, they came not just for physical food but also for spiritual nourishment. Our causes often stop short of the spiritual. Causes without Jesus offer only temporary blessings, not eternal ones. We are all called, but few are chosen.
Matthew 22:14 (ESV)
For many are called, but few are chosen.
We have all been called to love our neighbor, but love means not just a smile. It also might mean providing a full meal that feeds not only their stomachs but also their souls. If you’re reading this, you have been called. Remember, many are called, but few are chosen. The chosen are those who actually do the will of the One—our Heavenly Father—who calls. As true shepherds, we not only provide food and even clothing, but we also tend to the sheep by introducing them to the Word of God and what Jesus has done for us. As shepherds, we don’t just feed and walk away. No! We feed and walk with them as God walks with us. Our victory and rewards are not here on earth; we store them up in Heaven.
Matthew 6:19-20
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
The streets of gold need not be empty because we failed to understand our assignment. No, we will arrive in Heaven with hope that those whom God put in front of us on earth—the sheep He called us to tend—will also share in our Heavenly destination. As we walk on the streets of gold in Heaven, they need to be full of God’s children—so full that we can’t see the gold beneath our feet!