Is your faith more important than your work, business, and life? What exactly are your priorities?
Take a moment and do a time assessment. How much time do you spend with your family, spouse or children? How much time do you spend watching TV, Internet browsing, texting, or using other media devices? How much time do you spend seeking God?
Peter had gone back to what he was doing before he met Jesus and started a fishing company. However, it wasn’t going very well. It was early in the morning about quitting time for fishermen when Jesus shows up and makes a fire, some fish and bread, and calls out to them to throw their net on the other side and they would catch fish. They do it, and catch 153 large fish. This was a fish fortune. Peter jumps in the water, swims ashore to see Jesus. Together, they have breakfast when Peter and Jesus have a conversation.
Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” (John 21:15) The large fish were of tremendous value as fish from Galilee were a delicacy with Romans, in Damascus, and in Jerusalem. Jesus is referring to the fish that he had blessed them with catching. “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “You know I love you.” Jesus told him, “Then feed my lambs.”
The first stepping stone in leading in the Kingdom is to get your priorities in line. Setting your priorities will order your life and give you a clear and definitive template for making decisions about time, money, and relationships.
A great example of setting priorities about putting faith first and leading in that venue is Chick-fil-A’s commitment to be closed on Sunday’s so team members can attend a place of worship or be involved in faith filled activities. It is clear that faith in God is Chick-fil-A’s priority. The founders have a made decision which affects both how they use their time, and the financial profitability of their company. They do not even ask the question about how much money can be made on Sunday if they were open. Putting God first should determine how we use our time and how we make our money and spend our money.
If you are going to be a follower of Christ, you will have to abandon some things that you feel are good. Peter was a wealthy owner of a fishing company. However, he was better at fishing for men, feeding God’s people, and taking care of the things of God’s Kingdom. He left his business and the large fish to go back to following Jesus. He did this because he loved Jesus.
Jesus is asking us the same question: “Do you love me, more than these?”
Pastor Rob Rutherford is the founding pastor of The View Church which meets at Summerfield Elementary School , located at 11990 Big Bend Rd. in Riverview. He has been in full-time ministry for more than 15 years and started The View Church eight years ago because of his love of the South Shore community. He is married to his wife, Elizabeth, and has three children, Elysa, Cassidy and Jordan. For more information, please visit www.theviewchurch.org.
