April 16

Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd My sheep.” — John 21:16 BSB

We strive to follow Christ, but we are weak. We intend to love, but our days are marred by selfishness and tempers. We intend to have strong faith, but often our trust fails. We receive the blessing of peace, but time and again that peace is shattered. We want to show the world an example of Christlikeness, but every day we feel the weight of our failures. We begin each morning confident, but by evening we often feel defeated.

What can we do? The Master stands patiently, asking, “Do you love Me?” Dare we say, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You”? If He were a man like us, we might hesitate, because our failures seem to contradict our words. But Christ knows the truth about us. He sees our sincerity and loyalty, even through our weaknesses. He knows there is love beneath the broken promises. So we can look up from our failings and say, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You!”