The
question is not, “do you believe in me?”
Nor is it “will you obey me?” In
John 21 the question Jesus has for Peter, and for you and me is, “do you love
me?” It is a penetrating question that
cuts to the heart of our relationship with Christ.
This
question comes in the context of Peter’s recent dramatic failure where he
crumbled under the weight of fear and temptation and denied Jesus not once, not
twice, but three times. These failures
are magnified in the light of his arrogant boast that even if all the others
failed Jesus and fled, Peter would remain steadfast unto the death (Matt
25:33).
As we prepare for
worship this Sunday the issue for you and me is not whether we fail our Lord,
but whether we repent and return to Christ after we have failed. What we see take place in Peter’s life should
encourage that kind of repentance since we worship a resurrected Savior who
comes to us today offering forgiveness and initiating restoration.
Remember that in this process of restoration Jesus
takes the initiative! As we draw near to
God in worship this Sunday we should do so with thankful hearts that recognize
He first drew near to us. In this is love, not that we have loved God
but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:10 & 19)
He comes to us to restore each of us through a
process of spiritual surgery that cuts right to the heart of our relationship
with Christ. The heart of that
relationship is unchanged throughout scripture.
In the Old Testament God declared, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your might.” (Deut 6:5)
The question Jesus asks each of us is “do you love me?” In his commentary on John, F.B. Meyer wrote,
“There are different shades in
love - the love of gratitude, where the
rescued spirit sings the praise of Him who took it from the terrible pit and
miry clay; the love of complacency, with which the holy soul admires Him who is
fairer than the sons of men, and dwells with rapture on His majestic beauty and
endearing goodness; the love of friendship, in which by constant intercourse a
deep attachment arises between the confiding soul and the all-sufficient Savior.
And there are as many methods of manifestation of love as there are different
temperaments. With some, it is silent;
with others, it speaks. With some, it
sits listening at Christ’s feet; with others, it hurries too and fro to serve. With some, it is exuberant and enthusiastic;
with others, it is still and deep. But
whatever be the shade or the evidence, in each Christian heart there must be
love to Christ, and the heart must be willing to give up its throne to the
reign of Jesus as its Lord.”
Pray that
God will prepare your heart to hear his Word and encounter the risen Christ who
comes inviting you to be forgiven and restored in your relationship with
him.
And when
he does what does this restoration look like?
Is it enough for us church to say, "Man, we really love Jesus
here!"? No it’s not! True love for the Lord always manifests
itself in obedience to His commandments.
In John 21 this obedience is seen in the context of service &
ministry within the body of Christ, the church, the flock of Jesus’s
sheep. “Jesus does not come to us as a
“single person” (as it were), unattached. He is “married,” and the bride whom he loves
and for which he sacrifices himself is the church (Eph. 5:25). To be in a relationship with Christ and to
love him genuinely means that we must also love the church. For us to disparage the church is no more
acceptable to Jesus than for us (in a human context) to disparage our good
friend’s spouse. Peter—and each of us—is
called to embrace the body of Christ, to love it, to tend it, and to protect
it.”[1]
Love for Jesus will be manifested in love for his
church. The most basic of ways we love
the church is by praying for one another and caring for one another as we
gather together for worship.
This Sunday we will sing the old hymn More Love to Thee. Let the lyrics to this hymn be the prayer we
pray:
More love to Thee, O Christ, more
love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee;
This is my earnest plea: More
love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
Once earthly joy I craved, sought
peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best;
This all my prayer shall be: More
love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
Let sorrow do its work, come grief
or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me: More
love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
[1] Burge, Gary M. (2009-08-22). John
(NIV Application Commentary, The) (p. 572). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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