“I assure you: When you were young, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to signify by what kind of death he would glorify God. After saying this, He told him, “Follow Me! ”

John 21:18-19 HCSB

Jesus is clear on what is expected from a follower of His ministry: “You will be persecuted.” He says in Matthew 5:10, Mark 10:29-30, Luke 6:22, and John 15:18. Loving Him will cause us to go places we wouldn’t choose in our own pride, safety, or control.

In John 21, Jesus had been resurrected from the dead and revealed Himself to His disciples two times already. In His third revelation, some disciples (Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others) were together in their decision to go fishing.

“I am going fishing.” Simon Peter says.

“We’re coming with you.” they told him.

So, they went out

got into a boat

and caught nothing.

Jesus appears on the shore and assesses their success in fish-catching, and ultimately directs them in accomplishing their goal.

Cast your net

on the right side

of the boat.

Not yet knowing it was Him, they followed the instructions of the shore-bound adviser, and were so overwhelmed with the haul that they could not bring the net up out of the water.

Therefore,

John (insightfully) said to Peter

“It is the Lord!”

To this, Simon Peter rushed into action to get to Him - leaving behind the very reason for his adventure: the fish.

He girded himself appropriately.

He leapt into the water.

“Come and dine” Jesus instructed them to bring some of the 153 fish that were caught. Over this early morning meeting, Jesus served them, there was a general reminder of the Savior’s ability to take the meager and supernaturally multiple it (v. 6) - this would be very important for them to recall in their mission going forward. Jesus also took this opportunity to give an intimate lesson on priority and purpose to Simon Peter:

Jesus asks him, “Do you love Me?’ (agapé - a total commitment)

“Yes, I love You.” Simon Peter answers. (philo - brotherly)

“Feed My sheep,” Jesus directs him.

In essence, Jesus questions ‘is your priority a total love for Me,’ and asserts that if the answer is yes, then your purpose is to nourish My people. In whatever way I’ve called you to feed others, feed them.

By some scholars, it is thought that Simon Peter professed a phileo or weaker love for Jesus than the agapé questioning he received because of the guilt he felt in his preceding denials of the Savior. He believed the Lord knew how deep his love ran, but his shame against himself caused him to answer the question weakly. This shame may also have been why Simon Peter went on a post-resurrection fishing expedition.

What does Jesus do it response to Peter’s weaker response…He asks him two more times.

Three times Jesus asks this question of love to counter the thrice-denial professed by Peter prior to the crucifixion.

“The Great Physician was restoring Peter’s soul” - Dr. Thomas Constable

With this very purposeful questioning, He was turning Peter’s shame on its head. Jesus in His grace was making evident His forgiveness and cleansing power. Peter was no longer to be held to the shame of his previous actions.

It reminds me of this viral video of a little girl who is adamantly asking her father repeatedly “Do you love me?”

This video comes to mind because it shows not that she didn’t believe he was capable of loving her, but she needed to hear it. She needed him to know that “You. Love. Me”

When Jesus then asks Simon Peter this same question, it’s not that Jesus is unsure, but He needs Simon Peter to be certain that he loves Jesus as well. From here on out, behave as if you love Me, Jesus is teaching.

So, “where are you going?” is an important question because true love directs our actions. Love is needed to nourish, restore, and serve. So Curlfriend, where are you going in this life? Is it leading you to express, confess, profess, and showcase your love for Christ?

The act of Simon Peter and the disciples to go fishing after Jesus had now revealed Himself two times to them, is a return to something they’ve done before. Why?

They were in disbelief. They were disillusioned and in an unbelieving place in life. They needed familiarity, comfort, and they sought it a thing they’d done before…

But did they defend their profession of love for the Messiah by where they went? Did fishing lead them to a place of love for Jesus - were they going there to do anything beneficial for/to Him?

Jesus ultimately met them there…but was that their ultimate goal? We can get boggled down in disappointment to the point that we go places for familiarity, comfort, and control. We don’t seek to meet Jesus there, we simply seek to be…there. But as His disciples, as His ministry-carrying bodies, where we go all the time is an indication of our love for Him.

When we think about where we are going in life the foundation of it is to be in pleasure with God. That is our ultimate goal. That’s why we were created. He created us for His pleasure so that we might have pleasure with Him.

If we are going places where He is not included, or because we are in defeat, disbelief, disillusionment, confusion, or fear, are we truly going anywhere where our love for Him is shown? Places where Christ can ask of us “Do you love Me?” and we can reply wholly and with confidence “yes, Lord I love you!”

Curl Check:

Challenge yourself to question the places you go in your mind, with your body, in your family, with your friends, with your heart, good places, questionable places, and ask yourself “where am I going? Is this leading me to the great love of Christ? Is this leading me to exude and exhibit His love, to show Him love, to show love to others…where am I going?”

With every decision, with every thought, with every word you utter, meditate on where it’s going - where am I going with this - will God be able to question me repeatedly “do you love Me?” and I can say firmly “Yes, Father I love You. This is where I’ve gone for You. I know that You’ve brought me here, I know You made me to go to this place to say this thing, to think this thought, and to move this way.”

Curlfriends, I pray that you’re able to walk through life and exude the confident pleasure to say Lord I love You and here are the fruits to show how much…this is where I’ve followed You.

Smile, Shine, and Love, Curlfriends!

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I love you, Curls!