Love Is a Verb With a Direction

April 27th, 2026
by Howard Harris Jr.

Alive | Monday Reflection | Week 4

"Jesus said to him a third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' ... Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.'" — John 21:17

Sunday you heard about a beach breakfast that changed everything for Peter. He had denied Jesus three times. Jesus asked him three times. Not to humiliate him. To restore him. And every time Peter said yes, Jesus did not say good, I forgive you. He said feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.

The restoration and the assignment arrived in the same moment. You are loved and you are sent. Those two things are not separate. They are the same thing said two different ways.

Most of us have accepted the love and are still sitting on the beach.

We received something real at Easter. New life. Forgiveness. The weight lifted. And that is not nothing. That is everything. But Jesus did not restore Peter so Peter could feel better about himself on a beach in Galilee. He restored him so Peter could get up and move toward people who were hungry.

Here is the Monday question. Who is hungry in your world right now and what do you have in your hands that could feed them? Not a grand gesture. Not a life overhaul. Just one person this week. One act that proves the love is real because it went somewhere outside of you.

Love for Jesus always has a direction. And it always moves toward someone else.