Lovest
Thou Me, More Than These?
We are all
familiar with the exchange that Peter had with the resurrected Savior on the
Shore were Peter had been fishing. After the Savior was crucified, Peter and
several of the other disciples went fishing. They fished all night without
catching anything. A man standing on the shore called to them and asked if they
had caught anything. They called back that they had not so the man told them to
cast their nets on the right side and they will find some. They did and their
nets were so full they could not draw the nets in. They then recognized the man
was Jesus Christ and Peter dove in and swam to the shore to meet him where the
following exchange happened:
15 ¶So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon
Peter, Simon,son of Jonas, lovest thou
me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love
thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto
him, Feed my
sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me?
And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love
thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. (Johm
21:15-17)
I wrote about
this before from the perspective of developing our faith (July 28, 2013
“Pathways to Faith). This time I would like to discuss it from the perspective
of the sheep and the lambs and what the Savior expects us to do when he says
that we should feed them.
First – who are
the sheep and the lambs the Savior was referring to? Elder Ben Banks in a
conference address given October 1999 spoke of the lambs and the sheep:
“Twas a sheep not a lamb that
strayed away
In the parable Jesus told,
A grown-up sheep that strayed
away
From the ninety and nine in the
fold.
And why for the sheep should we
seek
And earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger when
sheep go wrong;
They lead the lambs astray.
Lambs will follow the sheep,
you know,
Wherever the sheep may stray.
When sheep go wrong, it won’t
take long
Til the lambs are as wrong as
they.
And so with the sheep we
earnestly plead
For the sake of the lambs
today,
For when sheep are lost, what a
terrible cost
The lambs will have to pay!
In this example
the sheep are mature grown individuals that have wandered and the lambs are
those that are young (or young in the gospel) and follow the example of their
friends or parents as they wander from gospel paths and are lost as well. The
sheep and lambs do not only refer to those who have wandered or are lost. The
Savior often spoke of his sheep. His sheep were his followers and the shepherds
were their priesthood leaders. Christ spoke of the true shepherd’s feeling for
his sheep when he said:
12 But he that is an hireling, and not the
shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf
catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John
10:11-15)
What are we
willing to do for the Lord’s sheep and lambs, not just those that are lost but
also for those that are faithful? President James E. Faust spoke of the
responsibility of priesthood leaders in the Lord’s church. He was speaking in
the April 1995 General Conference soon after being sustained as the second
counselor in the First Presidency, he said:
Tonight I would like to speak to the
priesthood of God in their capacity as the Lord’s shepherds. Elder Bruce R.
McConkie stated: “Anyone serving in any capacity in the Church in which he is
responsible for the spiritual or temporal well-being of any of the Lord’s children
is a shepherd to those sheep. The Lord holds his shepherds accountable for the
safety [meaning the salvation] of his sheep.” The
bearers of the priesthood have this great responsibility, whether it is father,
grandfather, home teacher, elders quorum president, bishop, stake president, or
other Church calling. (“Responsibility of Shepherds”, James E. Faust, General
Conference, April 1995).
He was speaking
in the priesthood session of conference when he said that it was their
priesthood duty. He could have included the mothers, grandmothers, visiting
teachers, Relief Society Presidents, Young Women Presidents and Primary
Presidents as well because no matter who we are, we have a responsibility to
care for others. The Lord made that clear when he taught of the parable of the
Good Samaritan.
President Gordon
B. Hinckley spoke of the importance of shepherding the Lord’s flock, when he
said:
“There are so many young people who wander
aimlessly and walk the tragic trail of drugs, gangs, immorality, and the whole brood
of ills that accompany these things. There are widows who long for friendly
voices and that spirit of anxious concern which speaks of love. There are those
who were once warm in the faith, but whose faith has grown cold. Many of them
wish to come back but do not know quite how to do it. They need friendly hands
reaching out to them. With a little effort, many of them can be brought back to
feast again at the table of the Lord.
“My
brethren and sisters, I would hope, I would pray, that each of us … would
resolve to seek those who need help, who are in desperate and difficult
circumstances, and lift them in the spirit of love into the embrace of the
Church, where strong hands and loving hearts will warm them, comfort them,
sustain them, and put them on the way of happy and productive lives” (“Reach
with a Rescuing Hand,” Ensign, Nov.
1996, 86).
Are we willing
to sacrifice our time to help our family, our neighbors, co-workers or
strangers that need our help? President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum
of Twelve Apostles, gave another example of what a true shepherd is in a 1984
General Conference talk. In his parable he talked of a ward that was planning a
picnic for the ward. The day came for the picnic and the weather was great, the
food looked good and the tables all set beautifully. Just as they were about to
begin, a noisy car came into the grounds and stopped with smoke pouring out of
the engine. Several hungry dirty children piled out of the car and the mother
brought a few leftovers to a nearby table. Then one of the children sees the
table full of delicious food and comes over to stare at it. Elder Packer said
that there were at least three possibilities that the ward members could take:
“First, you could insist the intruders keep
their children quiet while we have the blessing. Thereafter we ignore them.
After all, we reserved the place.
“I doubt that you would do that. Could you
choke down a feast before hungry children? Surely we are better than that! That
is not the answer.
“The next
choice. There is that extra table. And we do have too much of some things. We
could take a little of this and a little of that and lure the little children
back to their own table. Then we could enjoy our feast without interruption.
After all, we earned what we have. Did we not “obtain it by [our own]
industry,” as the Book of Mormon says? (See Alma 4:6.)
“I hope you would not do that. There is a
better answer. You already know what it is.
“We should go out to them and invite them to
come and join us. You could slide that way, and I could slide this way, and the
little girl could sit between us. They could all fit in somewhere to share our
feast. Afterward, we will fix their car and provide something for their
journey.
“Could there be more pure enjoyment than
seeing how much we could get those hungry children to eat? Could there be more
satisfaction than to interrupt our festivities to help our mechanic fix their
car?” (“Feed My Sheep”, Boyd K. Packer, General Conference, April
1984)
Who are the
Lord’s shepherds? We should not sit back and say that the shepherds are the
priesthood leaders and it is their responsibility to watch over the flock. As a
disciple of Jesus Christ I am one of his shepherds, we all are. We all must be
willing to share the burden of shepherding the flock. As parents, neighbors and
family members we must watch for those who are in need of our help. We should
pray to know who we can serve today and then when we see someone at home, work,
in the store wherever it may be we should ask: “Is this the person that needs
my help?” and then we must be willing to use our talents, time and means to
provide the help they need, even to the point of binding up their wounds,
providing the care they need and paying the “in-keeper” for their care and
promising to come back and reimburse them for whatever they need. If we are
willing to do this and more, then we are truly the Lord’s Shepherds and can
answer in the affirmative when the Lord asks us: “Lovest thou me, more than
these”.
Your comments and questions are always welcome.
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