Do You Really Love Me?

One of the beauties of marriage was that it made me a talker. I couldn't just show my love anymore, I had to talk about it...for hours! It was so foreign for me! My wife knows I love her, so why in the world do I need to keep saying it!!
It came down to the simple fact that she loves to hear it. If I truly love her, I will let her know in the way that she enjoys. It's not about me-it's about her. It was something that I was really bad at in the beginning and I would say that now I am greatly average at it. It is something that I keep working on as our marriage grows and also our love for one another grows.
When Jesus showed himself to Peter, he asked him an interesting question...3 times! Peter, do you love me? Now we know and understand how this conversation is supposed to go-just like I talked about before. Peter says, 'I love you', and we're done. Jesus asks Peter this question 3 times to remind him of the time he denied Christ 3 times. For Peter to be reinstated with Christ he needs to come to a place of repentance. Sometimes saying, 'I love you' is not enough. We need to repent.
But here's the incredible part-Jesus' answer. He then tells Peter to feed his lambs, take care of my sheep, and again feed my sheep. A process has taken place. Peter sees Jesus-is overjoyed so much that he jumps out of a boat into the water to swim to the shore to see him. He is hurt with grief and sorrow as Jesus brings to light his denial. Peter is reinstated because he repents. And then is given a mission-feed my sheep.
We give Peter a hard time because of his denials, but have you read what he did in Acts?? He plants churches, leads the disciples, he pastors-Peter is used by God!! Some of you are living Peter's legacy. You look at your past and no one would have guessed that you would love God and that God would use you for His glory. It's a shock to all of us. It's a shock to you, but that's how God works.
We need to get to work. If you've repented of your sin, love Jesus, have changed your life-there is one more step. We need to get to work. Jesus doesn't say, 'Great. I'm glad you love me. Make sure not to tell anyone. In fact, only hang out with people who know. You could even meet once a week in a building. It will be great.'
Hmmmm. No, I think He's calling you and me for much more...work.

-PC
pastorcory@rescuesumner.org
www.rescuesumner.org