He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to Him, “Tend My sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”     John 21:16-17 NKJV

Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him and then instructed him to tend and feed Jesus’ sheep. In this Scripture passage, Jesus is about to descend to heaven. He is stressing the importance of feeding His sheep to Peter. Jesus often referred to people as sheep. Many say this is because sheep need a shepherd. Without someone to watch over them, they can get into a world of trouble. And they can easily be led astray. They need to be protected from predators also. As Christians, we face all of these same dangers.

Today marks my mother’s birthday. And if I could use one verse to describe her, it would be this one. My mom fed the sheep. She humbly accepted that she was a sheep needing to be fed. Although she had a full-time job, a husband, a teenager daughter, two grown daughters, grandchildren, and elderly parents all needing her time she made time to be at church every Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday night. She taught Sunday school. She was the church clerk. She volunteered for Vacation Bible School, sang in the choir, and served wherever she was needed.

But my mom did something else. She fed sheep. Not only physically but spiritually. My mom invited all people regardless of their circumstances to come to church. She didn’t just invite them to attend church, however, she also invited them to come to Sunday dinner afterwards for a good, home-cooked meal.

Sunday dinners was a time that our family gathered to catch up on the week and talk about what lie ahead. It was a time to kick back and enjoy each other. You didn’t have to go to church to go to Sunday dinner, but Mom strongly encouraged it. She welcomed anyone who wanted to attend. My sister continues Mom’s tradition today.

I’ve sat with former convicts, drug addicts, and just some people down on their luck. But my mom always made them feel like family. I remember one young man who had done some work for my dad. He wound up in jail. I don’t remember the charges, but Daddy felt sorry for him and bailed him out. Mom went to work on his soul.

He attended church for several Sundays in a row and always made Sunday dinner. And then eventually, he was just showing up for Sunday dinner which was fine with my mom. And then he moved several hours away. We went years without hearing from him, then one Sunday evening I looked on the back row of our church. There was a man with a familiar face, but it took me a while to place him. I then realized he was that young man who had for a brief time been a regular at our Sunday dinners. When church was over, I went and told him who I was. He told me he had come there looking for Mrs. Ruby. He said he wanted to attend church and tell her hello. I told him that she had Alzheimer’s and didn’t get out much anymore. With a tear in his eye, he asked me to tell her hello and said he’d be praying for her.

I don’t know if that man ever got saved. I don’t know where he is today or if he’s even alive. But I do know that if he never got saved it wasn’t because my mom didn’t try.

Mom left a legacy of love. We are put on earth to do that, you know? We are put here to be fed by being taught the Bible and to feed others by sharing what we have learned.

So, if you truly love the Lord, feed His sheep. And on today, my mom’s birthday, I celebrate her legacy of feeding His sheep. And I’d give anything for just one more Sunday dinner at Momma’s.

Have a great day!