“ Feed My Lambs ”
Andrew Murray
“ 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 .” ” ( John 21:15 ).
Peter was a fisherman . After the first miraculous draught of fishes , the Lord had said , “ Follow Me , and I will make you fishers of men ” ( Matt 4:19 ). Peter ' s work on earth was made the symbol of his heavenly calling . After the second miraculous draught of fishes , in the days preceding the ascension , our Lord no longer calls Peter a fisherman , but a shepherd . There is a deep meaning in the change . One great point of difference between the fisherman and the shepherd is , that while the former catches what he has neither reared nor fed , and only seeks what is full-grown , casting away all the little fish out of his net back into the sea , the shepherd directs his special attention to the young and the feeble ; on his care for the lambs all his hope depends .
The type of the fisherman gave no place for the Master to give special charge concerning the children of His church . The shepherd ' s calling at once suggested the words , Feed My lambs , and sets forth the deep importance and the blessed reward of giving a first place to the little ones of the flock . Peter , and Christ ' s ministers , were not only to feed the sheep the prosperity of the church would specially depend upon their feeding the lambs . What was said to them is very specially applicable to parents as under-shepherds , who each have their little flock of lambs to keep and rear for the Master . Christ ' s commission to His church through Peter shows the place the little ones have in His heart , and teaches us to think of the weakness , the value , the need , and the hope of our children .
Dependent Lambs
Feed My lambs , Jesus says , and reminds us of the feebleness of our children and their religious life . I was once leaving a sheep farm in company with its master towards evening . There were threatening clouds ; just as we had left he hurried back to call his son , and cry out , “ Take great care of the lambs ! There is a storm coming .” The Lord was just about to ascend the throne ; one of His last words is , care for the lambs . The sheep is a weak and helpless animal ; how much more the little lamb ! It cannot care for itself . The Master would have every minister and every parent think much how utterly dependent the child is