Do You Even Love Him?
A
few days after Peter’s denials of Christ, the risen Lord sat with the disciples
and ate breakfast. When they were finished Jesus turned to Peter and asked him,
“Do you love me more than these?” (John 21:15). This question He asked twice,
both times using a form of the word agape,
which describes a complete and selfless love. Peter replied to both questions
with a much weaker form of the word “love,” saying, “yes Lord you know that I phileo you.” Undoubtedly this deeply grieved
Peter, but he was aware of his weakness, and would not boldly profess his
undying love for the Savior. A third time Jesus asked, “Peter, do you phileo me?” (John 21:17). But this time Jesus asks as if
to say, “Peter, do you even like me?” To
which Peter replied, “Lord, you know all things. You know that I phileo you.”
Like
Peter we are often quick to profess our endless, perfect love for God. And,
like Peter, we are quick to deny Him with our actions or words. We are fortunate, today, that we don’t have
to fear death when we profess the name of Christ. But we must fear death if we
refuse to obey Him. Jesus said, “You are
My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John
Are
you a friend of Jesus? Are you cleansed
of your sins by the blood of the Lamb? You can answer yes when you’ve done what
the Bible says you must do. It is
simple. Hear the word of God (Romans