COMMISSIONED

📖Scripture: “He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep…’ After saying this, He told him, ‘Follow Me.’” – John 21:17

🔎Reflection: When the risen Christ meets Peter on the shore, He does not merely extend forgiveness for Peter’s three denials. He also commissions him. Restoration and mission are inseparably tied. Jesus’ words — “Feed My sheep” — call Peter beyond personal relief into active participation in building the Body and Bride of Christ.

This scene overtly rejects the individualistic perspective we often think of as personal faith. It is easy for us to focus on the blessings and benefits of salvation while losing sight of God’s refining work to make us into useful vessels for His kingdom. Quoting Jeremiah 29:11 about God’s “plans to prosper,” but forget the biblical imagery of the divine Smith removing the dross so that pure material remains for His workmanship (Malachi 3:2–3; 2 Timothy 2:20–21), exposes a selfish rejection of God’s sanctifying work. That’s why so much of Christian conversation is about salvation, and little, if any, is about sanctification.

Peter’s restoration was not a special privilege for a select class of “super-Christians.” It is a pattern for all disciples (Matt 16:24). If we have truly been redeemed, justified, cleansed, and made righteous — if we truly have been born again by the Spirit — then we have also been commissioned. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) was not given to a few; it’s an imperative command, not to make disciples (“make” doesn’t exist in the original Greek), but to simply surrender to the divine process. It’s a privilege and joy for all who have been brought from death to life by grace through faith in Christ!

That means our blessed assurance is not in a past moment of belief, but in the past moment of Christ’s substutionary atonement at the Cross, and the present reality of the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying and missional work in us. “Once saved, always saved” rings hollow if it doesn’t equate to “once commissioned, always commissioned.” Regeneration does not leave us static; it propels us into the life of ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20) and witnesses (Acts 1:8). If our lives bear no evidence of this, 2 Cor 13:5 is a sobering wake-up call to examine ourselves (inviting the Holy Spirit to do the examination) to see whether we are in the faith, or exposed as counterfeit.

Peter’s story reminds us that Christ’s grace is not merely restorative but transformative. We truly become new creations in Christ! He rescues to deploy, forgives to send, and restores to recommission. If we truly belong to Him, His mission will pulse through, bubble up, and burst forth from within us — not as a religious program, but as the supernatural overflow of a Spirit-transformed life.

🤺Action: Let us take time today to measure our lives not only by what we once professed but by how we are presently and actively participating in Christ’s mission. Are we feeding His sheep — building up His Bride through discipleship, service, and Gospel witness? Is evangelism an event we join, or the most natural expression of our new and exclusive identity in Christ? Are our lives oriented toward the health, unity, and growth as devoted and functional members of His Body & Bride, or have we allowed faith to be reduced to something so selfish and banal as personal satisfaction, security, and comfort?

As places in our hearts and habits are graciously exposed as misaligned with His mission, God’s loving call is to repent, turning not to a more culturally acceptable sin, but back to Him. This action reveals we are not counterfeit, but ready to be refined and recommissioned for Him, His Church, and His glory!

🙏Prayer: Lord Jesus, You know all things. You know our hearts, our failures, our fears, and our affections. Forgive us for the times we have received Your grace yet withheld our lives from Your mission. Refine us — burn away the dross, strip us of self-centeredness, and fill us with Your Spirit so that we may feed Your sheep, proclaim Your Gospel, and build up Your Bride. Let our love for You be proven in obedience and endurance, not in empty words. Commission us afresh today, and keep us faithful until we see You face to face. Amen.

Click on the following link for a short video version:

https://youtube.com/shorts/mcsTATliHtE?feature=shared

Blessings & love,

Kevin M. Kelley

Pastor

BigIslandChristianChurch.com