Five Minutes in the Garden - A Daily Discussion of God's Word

As the early Church began to grow,
the followers of Christ did not have wealth, influence, or status.

They weren’t backed by power.
They didn’t possess great resources.

And yet, they carried something greater.

Today, Peter stands before a man in need.

He can’t offer money.

He can’t solve everything the world might measure as success.

But he’s not empty-handed.

Because what Christ gives
is greater than what money can buy.

We’ve begun to see what happened

when the Holy Spirit filled the early Church.

They devoted themselves to truth.

To fellowship.

To prayer.

And as their hearts were transformed,

their lives began to change as well.

Yesterday, we heard that we are not meant to live this life
in our own strength.

We’re given power—through the Holy Spirit.

But today, we begin to see
what that life actually looks like.

We’ve walked through the Resurrection.

We’ve received peace.

We’ve been invited to abide… to love… to live in joy.

But now, a new question begins to emerge:

How does this life actually take shape?

We’ve come a long way.

Through Lent…

through the Cross…

through the silence…

and into the light of the Resurrection.

And along the way,

we’ve been invited into something deeper.

To follow.

To love.

To remain.

And now, Christ reveals what all of this leads to.

Not obligation.

Not pressure.

Joy.

Yesterday, we were asked a question:

“Do you love Me?”

A question that reaches to the center of everything.

But today, Christ gives us something just as important.

Not a question; but an invitation.

Because love isn’t only something we offer.

It’s something we are meant to live within.

And so, He says: “Abide in My love.”

We’ve been moving forward—

learning what it means to follow Christ,

to live that out,

to serve those around us.

But today, everything slows down.

Because beneath all of it—

the action, the movement, the calling—

there is a question.

A simple one.

A direct one.

And one that reaches deeper

than anything else.

“Do you love Me?”

Yesterday, we heard Christ’s call:

“Follow Me.”

A personal invitation. A step forward.

But today, that call takes shape.

Because following Christ is not only about where we go.

It’s about how we live.

And in one of the most intimate moments after the Resurrection, Jesus speaks again to Peter.

Not about belief. Not about failure.

But about love.

After the Resurrection, after the appearances, after the restoration of faith…

Jesus does something very simple.

He speaks directly.

Not to a crowd. Not to a group. To one person.

Peter.

And in that moment, after everything that has happened— the denial, the failure, the restoration— Jesus gives him a clear and simple call:

Follow Me.

After the Resurrection, after the appearances, after the peace and the Spirit… there is still a struggle.

Not with the crowds. But within the disciples themselves.