Save Marriages

When Jesus told the disciples they would deny Him, Peter vehemently denied this telling Jesus he would follow Jesus even if it cost him his life.  Then Jesus said something that seems almost cynical or pessimistic.  It most certainly would not fall into the category most people would call “positive thinking” when He told Peter that before the cock crows Peter would deny Him three times.  And that is exactly what happened.

After Jesus was resurrected, He asked Peter, “Do you love me more than these?”  And, Peter answered something much less enthusiastic, like “Yeah, l’m convinced you’re a good guy” or “I like you”.  But, that wasn’t what Jesus was asking.

Jesus wasn’t feeling insecure and needing assurance.  He was interested in the condition of Peter’s heart.  He was searching Peter’s heart, not to learn something, but to reveal something to Peter and bring him to repentance and healing.  So, Jesus proceeded to ask Peter, “Do you love me” again.  if He asked only, “Do you love me” the second time, that was probably already a painful question because He no longer was asking, “Do you love me more than these?”  He was no longer asking if He was first place, but whether Peter even loved Him at all.  And, again, Peter answered, something more akin to “Yeah, you’re a good bud”, or “Yeah, I like you”.  Then Jesus used Peter’s words and asked, “Peter, do you like me?”  Then Peter said, “Lord, you know that I love you”, and then Jesus said, “Feed my sheep”.

But, this is a question Jesus asks us all.  He lays out all our desires, dreams, lusts, cravings, addictions, sins, and asks us, “Do you love Me more than these?”

In prayer recently, I felt the Lord confronting me about this issue personally and helping me realize whenever I am faced with a decision whether to sin or not, I am given a choice whether to love Jesus more than my sin or whether to love my sin more, and giving in to sin is such a serious thing because it tells Jesus I don’t love Him enough to give up that sin and that I would rather hurt Him than to give up the sin.

Christianity begins with faith that brings us God’s grace to overcome these sins.  Christianity begins with surrender, repentance, giving up these sins.  Every time we justify, excuse, or rationalize our sins away as insignificant, we justify, excuse, and rationalize hurting God.  It is a very serious matter.  It is as if to look into the eyes of Jesus on the cross and say, “Your love and Your sacrifice for me is not enough to convince me to give up my sins against you.”  It is a very serious matter.

When we rationalize and say we all sin because nobody is perfect, we criticize the quality of God’s creation in us and we blame God for failing to give us grace that is sufficient for us.  Furthermore we make Him out to be a liar in that God has told us in scripture that His grace is sufficient for us.

The question Jesus asks each of us today is, “Do you love me more than these?”

It is sad when He has to ask us, “Do you love Me at all?” or “Do you think I’m important enough for lip service only?”

When we receive Jesus as Lord, Jesus is first — not second or third.  Jesus called Peter and invested time and effort into Peter, and yet Peter’s denial of Jesus proved without a doubt that even though Peter had thought of himself as fully Christian or committed to Christ, cowardice ruled over Peter’s life.  I don’t mean to be hard on Peter because that is probably true for nearly everybody.

But, as long as there is anything or anyone who can take the Lordship over our lives away from Jesus, that thing is our lord — not Jesus.

Will you make a commitment today to have no other Lord other than Jesus Christ?  Jesus asks, “Do you love Me more than these?”