Do You Love Me?

Posted by Jen Overly on Nov 26, 2008 in Daily Bread | 1 comment

Do you love me?  Seems like a simple enough question. And at first Peter might think that he can get away with a simple enough answer, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”  But then Jesus gives him a command, “Feed my lambs.”  Jesus asks again, “Do you love me?”  Peter gives again, his simple answer, maybe getting a tad frustrated at the repetition of this conversation.  You can almost hear it in his voice a bit, can’t you?  “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”  Again, Jesus commands, “Take care of my sheep.”  And then the third time, we get to watch Peter deflate, become humble, lose himself, and realize where this conversation is headed.  Jesus asks again, “Do you love me?” and Peter, no doubt reliving his third denial his Christ, places Jesus in authority over him and says, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”   Once again, a command, “Feed my sheep.”

Peter loses something here…his pride.  He becomes very aware of what loving Jesus looks like and it has nothing to do with him and it has everything to do with others.  He was top dog among the apostles.  He had been following Jesus since early in his ministry and was often a spokesman for the group.  Peter was the one who jumped out of the boat when he saw Jesus walking on the water.  There must have been a certain distinction at that time to be so closely associated with a mover and shaker…that is until being linked with Jesus could get you in trouble.  Peter got scared and denied Jesus three times. Now, with these three simple questions from Jesus on the other side of crucifixion, Peter finally understands what it REALLY means to follow Christ….to love Jesus.  It is like Jesus is looking straight at Peter and saying, “it’s not about you.”

We are given this same command, to tend to the flock of Jesus.  However, in order to understand fully what it means to love and follow Christ, we must lose our pride. We must get past our selfish nature and be reminded daily….it’s not about you.