God Will Make Our Love Enough

The book of John 21 portrays the moment when Jesus had died. Six fishermen went out fishing. Can you see them out there, working through the night, with their lamps burning and both boats casting their nets, and pull after pull of the net - nothing at all? Not a single fish to sell or to cook for their own breakfast! The meager catch that night was a reflection of their souls. They had nothing. They could catch nothing. They could not even catch a single small fish. Whatever skill they once had, it was not enough. Then they remembered a night like this one - three years ago, when it all began. They were all thinking about it, but no one spoke. What was the point?

Just before daybreak, before they gave up, a man called to them from the shore (Who is that? Could it be?) Hesitantly, they did what he said (Cast the net on the other side?), then in a moment that seemed hard to believe, their net was full of the biggest fish they had ever seen. Did they not remember this pattern - where a man speaks and then out of nothingness, impossibility, and failure comes an endless abundance? Peter saw Him clearly now. He threw on his outer garment and jumped into the sea. This time he rushed toward the Lord rather than asking Him to go away.

A little while later all the men were gathered around the fire now. The fire crackled with welcome warmth on the sand. The meal was nearly finished. Then, the fire settled low. Smoke followed the wind and drifted over one man, then another. Then Jesus spoke, "Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?"

Peter was startled. Jesus, sitting on the other side of the coals, looked straight at him. His face seemed calm and kind. Simon Peter looked around to see what Jesus meant. He looked at the sea, the boat, his close friends, the fish on the sand waiting to be sold. He blinked, dazed. Peter knew the truth now. None of this was his. None of this could feed him. Then he looked at Jesus. "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You." Peter stammered. This was the first time he had spoken with the Master since that night. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Jesus blinked, smiled at him, tilted His head, and asked again, "Do you love Me?"

Peter froze. Jesus did not ask, "Will you turn away from Me again? Will you make another mistake?" His question is for us too, because we all have been in moments just like Peter's.

Do you love Me? Jesus asked a question whose answer He already knew. He knew Peter's thoughts and the contents of his heart. But Peter, who had lost confidence, did not realize it until it was drawn out of him.

"Lord, You know that I love You!" By saying it, Peter knew that he truly loved this now-risen Messiah, and Peter was even willing to die for Him. And he would. Simon would die for that name and for Jesus alone a few years later. A few words later, Jesus would tell him how he would die. But for now, one last time, the only question that mattered:

"Simon, son of John, do You love Me?" Jesus asked softly, in a low voice, with an unwavering gaze.

Peter frowned. Why did Jesus not believe him? "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You!" he almost shouted this time. And as Peter spoke, at last he heard it.  Three questions. Three answers. Could it be? Could each of his denials now be forgiven, covered by love? By Jesus' love for him. And even more astonishing, Peter's love for Jesus - his small and limited love? Was it enough for the Messiah?

Peter would never forget this exchange. He would go on writing to the early church, and to all believers: "Above all, love one another earnestly, for love covers a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4 :8). 

Our Love Becomes Enough

This is the good news, in these words around this fire. Peter was forgiven for his unfaithfulness, his selfishness, his fear. So are we, who have also run from Jesus, who is our life. Then the next truth is revealed when He says, "Follow Me" it also means that He will pursue us. We have nothing to offer Him. We stumble, we fall, we run in the other direction, and still He pursues us. He wants us. He loves us. Yes, He will not let us go.

But Jesus was not finished. This is not only about us. Every declaration of Peter's love is met with a charge: feed My lambs, care for My sheep, shepherd My sheep.

So, Peter's love was enough. Peter's love now had something to share with the world. Just as we have been fed, we have been forgiven, let us feed others. Others where? Everywhere. In the end, Jesus commands, "Go into all the world."

Is this really true? We may want to protest and say back to Jesus, "Do You know how weak we are, how wavering our faith is, how limited the love we have is? Do You really trust us? How can we do this?", and we know the answer has already been given. Through two fish, through wine at a wedding feast, through bread on that hillside, and in so many other ways. He is the Lord who takes whatever we bring to Him - our poverty, our little faith, our two small fish, our limited human love - and multiplies it wondrously. God will make our love enough.

A quotation from Leslie Leyland Fields,  Crossing the Waters: Following Jesus through the Storms, the Fish, the Doubt and the Seas.