A 50-year-old woman sat weeping in her pastor's study. "Pastor, I just feel so worthless," she said. "I centered my whole life around my three children, and now that they are married and have their own lives, they don't seem to need me at all. What am I going to do?"

What happened to this dear mother? Feeling that you have no purpose happens all the time to all kinds of people. But God has given each of us a purpose that transcends every change in our lives. Our purpose is to help make disciples for Jesus until we take our final breath.

There is a neat little story at the end of John's gospel in which Jesus took the time to remind Peter and his friends of their true purpose in life. It comes after Jesus' death and resurrection. Peter was in Galilee, and he said to his friends, "I'm going fishing." They replied. "We'll go with you." It all seemed innocent enough, just some guys going fishing, right? Only God could see their hearts. They were floundering a bit. So, Jesus made sure they caught nothing that night. Just like when they were first called to fish for men, they fished all night and caught nothing. Then Jesus appeared and told them to cast the nets on the other side of the boat. Not much of a fishing tip, but as they pulled in the bursting nets they knew it was the risen Lord Jesus on the shore. What followed was a wonderful conversation where Jesus called Peter back to his life purpose—feeding God's sheep and lambs.

God wants every Christian to live with mission and purpose. He left us to bring the gospel to this lost world. Maturing Christians understand that there is no greater purpose for which to live.

Before you go any further, get your Bible and read the story in John 21:1-19. After reading it, answer the questions below.

John 21:15:
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

POINTS TO PONDER

1. Why do you think Jesus made sure the disciples did not catch any fish that night?

Answer: Just like when he first called them in Luke 5, Jesus wanted his disciples to come to the end of themselves and to realize that they were totally dependant on him for everything. So, they could not control their own success at fishing, nor were they supposed to get their significance in life from their fishing prowess. Instead he was re-calling them to be fishers of men. His forgiveness covered their past failures, and he still had work for them to do.

2. Why do you think Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him?