I Love Jesus Yes I Do!

My Utmost For His Highest

‘Do you love Me? —John 21:17

Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35 ; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person.’ CHAMBERS

Jesus’ question to Peter is a question for us.  The question was not  .. ‘Do you want to love Me?” Of course the answer will be “yes” The question is “Do you love me”.  Jesus went on to say .. essentially “Show me”.  The Christian life is very appealing to us.  But it demands sacrifice .. it requires dying to your “old-self” and all of its desires … Jesus asked further “More than these?”  Can you give up what you find security in? pleasure in? purpose in?  Can you lay it all down for Jesus?  Can you leave it and not go back to it?

 

Paul wrote in Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

 

Paul said he strains … that means that this new life requires effort .. commitment … devotion.  But also the power of God’s Spirit in us.  Peter left his vocation to follow Jesus … and felt he would follow Jesus even to death … but the truth was, he was only infatuated with the idea.  Later, after Pentecost, Peter stood before those who sent Jesus to the cross and preached the Gospel to them.  What was the difference … We live this life by being committed to the Lord but ‘not by (our own) power or by (our own) might, but by His Spirit.’  (Zechariah 4:6)

 

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)