JOHN 21:15-22 – When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, 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, “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. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

THEME OF THE DAY. KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS. It is extremely easy to do. We know it is something we shouldn’t do, but it is something we easily do. It is not just in church we do this. It extends into a lot of areas in life. It occurs in our homes, especially when raising children. It also is prominent in our workplaces. I believe it is common to all human beings Perhaps not as frequent in some, but present in all. I say that with confidence because it is a result of sin; the sin that happened in the Garden of Eden by our first parents and passed down to us.

So with this long introduction, what are we talking about? It is looking at other people and not in edifying ways. Actually, in judgmental, critical, even envious ways that would include shifting blame for our conduct to others. Remember the dialogue between Adam and God after he sinned? It went like this . . . And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:8-12). Yes, Adam owned and confessed his sin, but not without trying to shift some blame to another person – his wife. That happens when we put our eyes on people, not Jesus.

Yes, we are quick to judge and blame others for our reactions and conduct in life, but we are equally quick to look at others, observe what they are doing or not doing and become envious or critical. Like in today’s scripture. Peter is restored by the Lord Jesus, and to show the reality of his sinful nature, he immediately gets his eyes off Jesus, looks at another disciple and says, “Lord, what about this man?” Peter illustrates an important truth for us – keep your eyes on Jesus. If we don’t, then we will get in all kinds of spiritual trouble. We will judge people. We will be critical of people. We will blame people. And the only way to prevent these carnal sins is to keep looking to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). In keeping our eyes on Him, we remain humble and servant-like. In getting our eyes off Jesus, we become prideful and Pharisee-like.

So, when tempted to look around at others, stop and redirect our eyes to the Savior. It will prevent us from getting a “bad heart” of bitterness, envy, criticalness, and a host of other Spirit-grieving sins.

PRAYER: “Father, help me keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and what He desires and commands of me.”

QUOTE: “If we take our eyes off Jesus, we will lose the joy of following Jesus.”