My wife loves breakfast. She enjoys the calm, the newness of the day, and the needed energy it provides. I love bacon and eggs, but my reading lately has me craving more.
There's a scene near the end of the Gospel of John (21) that has been on my mind, especially with everything going on in the world. It’s a quiet, post-resurrection moment that carries the weight of a new beginning.
The disciples are back to what they know best: fishing. Peter, the restless and unsure, says, "I'm going fishing," and the others follow. They fish all night and catch nothing, similar to my fishing trips. As dawn breaks, someone calls out from the shore. They don't recognize Him at first—maybe grief and confusion clouded their eyes, or perhaps the resurrected Jesus simply looked different. I lean towards the latter.
From the beach, He calls out with a familiar, almost casual tone, “Boys, have you any food?” (John 21:5, NKJV). It must have been the way a Father calls to his boys. After they admit their fishing failure, He gives a simple command: "Cast the net on the right side." They obey, and suddenly their net is full of 153 fish. In that moment of miraculous provision, John knows. "It is the Lord!"
What follows is pure Peter. He immediately throws on his outer garment, dives into the sea, and swims for shore, leaving everyone else to haul in the impossible catch. The one who has failed the most is the quickest to obey. On the beach, Jesus already has a charcoal fire going, cooking bread and fish. He feeds them. He serves them.
The Question That Matters Most
After they had eaten, the moment became personal. Jesus turns to the disciple who had denied Him three times (Peter) and asks a simple question three times: “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
This is the question that cuts through all our failures, our doubts, and our confusion. It’s the question Jesus is still asking each of us today in the quiet moments of our own lives: Do you love Me?
And for every heartfelt "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You," Jesus gives a command: “Feed/Tend My sheep.”
This is where the encounter on the beach becomes our own. If we truly love Him, our love must have an outlet. We are called to feed others. But what is the food?
Food for Our Souls
The "feed" we are to give isn't of our own making. It’s the spiritual food that we ourselves must first consume. It’s the Word of God. We can't give what we haven't received. The Bible is clear that God's Word is our essential nourishment.
It’s more necessary than physical food. When tempted in the wilderness, Jesus declared, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Our deepest hunger isn't for bread, but for truth.
It’s a source of deep joy. The prophet Jeremiah understood this when he said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16). Consuming Scripture isn't a chore; it’s the source of our strength and gladness.
It’s how we mature. The author of Hebrews challenges us to move beyond the basics, from "milk" to "solid food." He explains that “solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). We grow by wrestling with the deep truths of God.
From a Full Heart, Love Overflows
When we have truly eaten—when we have been nourished and strengthened by the Word of God—we are finally equipped to obey the second part of Jesus’s command. Having been fed, we can go feed others. And the ultimate expression of this is love.
A heart filled with God's Word will naturally overflow with God's love. Did you hear that? Read it again if you will. It enables us to love the world not with our own emotions, but with a divine, enduring love.
1 John 4:7-8 (NKJV): “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
John 13:34-35 (NIV): "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Romans 5:8 (NKJV): “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The encounter on the beach started with an empty net and ended with a full commission. It began with physical hunger and led to a call to provide spiritual food. Today, the resurrected Christ stands on the shore of our lives asking the same question: “Do you love Me?”
If your answer is yes, then your path is clear. Eat. Feast on His Word. Let it be the joy and rejoicing of your heart. And then, with a soul satisfied by Him, go and love the world. Eat your bacon and eggs, and then go Feed His sheep.
We’re finishing John this week in our Men’s Bible Study (Simple Discipleship). I will begin the book of John with our 7th-8th-grade boys at DCA. Pray that God would open hearts and create a hunger for His word in these awesome young men.
Thank you,
Andy