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Show How God . ! Restores By REV. LEW W. GOSNELL. iff , Assistant Dean. Mood? Btbis . Institute, Chicago. . TEXT Ro when the? had dined, Jesus alth to eimon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more thn these? He smith unto Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knoweat that I love Thee. He talth unto htm. Feed my lambs. John 21:16. Adelaide Proctor tells the story of a nun who kent the portal at a con- vent In France. Her heart went out to a soldier she nursed; she left the convent and in Paris fell Into a life of sin. After years she crept back to the convent . steps to die. She was taken tak-en in and nursed back to health, when lot she found another bad filled her nlace (n the con- vent through the years, and now that she had come back It was awaiting her. She slipped back Into her old position and few knew she had ever gone away. The late Dr. 3. Wilbur Chapman used to tell this story to Illustrate God's gracious way of restoring his erring saints. In our text we have one of the great scriptural examples of such gracious restoration, from which all may take comfort. Christ Inquires of Peter, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" Peter had protested that though all others might forsake Christ, he would never leave Him. But he had shown, too sadly, that he did not .love his Master "more than these." How .Christ's question must have rebuked him 1 . And in his reply it is to be noted that all the old spirit of boasting is gone and there is no claim to love Christ more than others love Him. Soma Searching Questions. Peter's humility is shown In another way. In Christ's question, the, word used for love, in the original, indicates indi-cates an unselfish love which expects no return the love of friendship. When Peter replies, he uses a lower word for love, Inflicatlng a personal, clinging affection which seeks return. In other words, he has ceased to boast ot his love, not only as toouan-tlty, toouan-tlty, but also as to quality. He only dares to assert he is fond of Jesus! Moreover, the third time Jesus inquired in-quired as to Simon's love, He used the same word, In the original, which Peter had been using, as If to say: "Are you sure you have even this lower kind of love, that you are even fond of me?" No wonder Peter was grieved when Christ said unto hlra the third time, "lovest thou me?" He can only reply: "Lord, thou know-est know-est all things: thou knowest that I love thee." Peter feels he has so failed in showing his love that only his Lord, who knows all things, can see It I But let us not lose sight of the grace underlying the. searching ques-tlns ques-tlns of Christ. Thrice had Peter denied de-nied Him in public, and he Is here given the privilege of thrice publicly confessing Him. But our text denls not only with Peter's confession, but also with his commission, "Feed my lambs." Indeed, after both the second and third confessions, con-fessions, Christ says: "Feed (It. V. tend) my sheep." These are the lambs and sheep for whom the Great Shepherd Shep-herd died. What a great evidence of His love for Peter, and of the confidence confi-dence He reposes in the once erring disciple, that He will commit to his care' those who are so precious to Him! Christ had said to Peter before be-fore his fall: "When thou art converted, con-verted, strengthen thy brethren." Now that Peter has been converted, or turned, and knows his own weakness, he is preparing to help others. It has been beautlfuly said: "When troncht to nothlrg, He c;n tip? w In our nothingness, and when He can use us. He will." The Privilege of Martyrdom. There is still another way in which Christ's grace was manifested toward Simon on the occasion we are considering, consid-ering, although it Is sometimes not appreciated. After the third confes-ulon, confes-ulon, Jesus said: "When thou wast young thou girdedst thy.ylf, and walk-edst walk-edst whither thou wouliletit: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." John explains: "This spoke he, signifying by what death he should glorify God." Tradition Tradi-tion tells us that I'eter was crucified heud downward, since he did not feel worthy to he upright on his cross us was his Lord. Not all would covet such a deuth, but it Is to he recalled that I'eter had boasted of his willingness willing-ness to die for Christ and then hud miserably failed. How he must have iipprecliited the opportunity of making Kood even at this point ! The nun in the story only got hack tier position, but I'eter was advanced from beinj; a "Usher of turn" to being be-ing a shepherd of the Hock of God, u ho siiiill receive the "crown ot tloiy," and a martyr, who shall receive re-ceive the "crown of life." With what new meaning may we sing: "He re-torrt', re-torrt', my m-'.iI :' |