Walking in Love: Making Full Proof of Your Calling

John 21:15-17
So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.(KJV)
Walking in love is the attitude and disposition of a servant who intends to make full proof of his ministry.
Three times, Jesus reiterated that love for Him is demonstrated by serving His will and purpose. He asked Peter three times to prove his love for Him by being obedient to ministry. Jesus sought to stir up Peter’s love so that he might fully commit to his calling. Loving Christ means engaging in the ministry of serving the saints.
Jesus knew Peter was affectionate toward Him, but mere affection wouldn’t suffice for ministry. Peter’s response expressed his fondness, but Jesus said, “Feed My sheep,” meaning, fulfill My will and purpose.
Your love for Christ is important, but if it only makes you affectionate and fond of Him without making you selfless and sacrificial in ministry, it will lead to frustration.
Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me more than your business?” Peter replied, “You know that I love You.” Jesus used the Greek word agapaō, which refers to the kind of love that is rooted in God’s character, demonstrated in His love for all mankind.
As seen in John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
And in 1 John 4:9-10:
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Also, in Ephesians 5:1-2, we are instructed to
“be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
Peter, on the other hand, used the Greek word phileō, which denotes personal affection or fondness for someone, akin to friendship.
To make full proof of our ministry, we must go beyond phileō to agape. Mere fondness and affection for Jesus, without serving God’s will and purpose, won’t stand the tests and trials of ministry.
Paul writes in Romans 8:35-39:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
It is this love, manifest in ministering to the saints, that makes us more than conquerors in the face of trials. This love keeps us steadfast in ministry, excelling in the work of the Lord without stumbling.
As 2 Corinthians 5:13-15 reminds us,
“For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
You are responsible for making full proof of your ministry. Walk in love toward the brethren, in obedience to God’s Word, to overcome any disobedience that could hinder you and place a stumbling block in your path.
As Paul instructs in 2 Timothy 4:5,
“But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry” (KJV).
The phrase “full proof” comes from the Greek word plērophereō, meaning “to bring to completion, to fulfill, to carry through to the end, to fully accomplish.” It implies fulfilling your ministry in every part, carrying it out to the fullest, according to the will of Christ.
Making full proof of your calling means carrying out your ministry excellently throughout your life, doing it to the pleasure of Christ and according to His will. Love for Him is provoked into good works within the assembly of the saints.
As Hebrews 10:24-25 says,
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Prove your love for Him by loving the saints and ministering to them. This is how you make full proof of your ministry.
I call you blessed.