W-1614
I’m sure you recall how dreadfully Peter failed Jesus at the time of his trial and crucifixion. After making many boastful pledges that he would never forsake Jesus, that he would even be willing to die for him, Peter had disgracefully denied he even knew Jesus, and done so with cursing, when questioned by a simple maiden. He turned into a coward and a traitor only a few hours after vowing to serve Jesus no matter what.
Undoubtedly Peter was totally crushed and ashamed of his actions, as he encountered Jesus after the resurrection. I’m sure he felt that Jesus would never again be willing to trust him. Never again would Jesus choose him to be a disciple. Peter had blown it badly and I imagine he was prepared to sit on the sidelines the rest of his life.
But Jesus had other plans for Peter, and it’s a wonderful encouragement to all of us to know that even when we’ve failed miserably, the Lord is able to restore us to fellowship and use us mightily, as he did Peter.
But before re-enlisting Peter for the remarkable life he would have as the leader of the early church, Jesus had this very important conversation with Peter—a job interview, if you like—to make certain that Peter was qualified and prepared for the duties and responsibilities that lay ahead for him. This job interview is recorded in John 21, where Jesus asked Peter three key questions. These are important questions; hope you’re ready to write them down. Here they are:
- Peter, do you truly love me?
- Peter, do you truly love me?
- Peter, do you truly love me?
Strange job interview, don’t you agree? Jesus didn’t bring up Peter’s past failures. He didn’t remind him of how badly he had performed at the trial and crucifixion. Also, notice that he didn’t ask Peter any questions about theology. He didn’t ask him about his education or experience, nor did he ask about his awards or credentials. Not once did he question Peter about his gifts or abilities.
But the Lord was very careful to quiz Peter repeatedly about the most important prerequisite for service, the one essential ingredient Peter would need in order to serve the Lord faithfully. Without this basic job requirement, Jesus knew Peter would give up easily and never be able to make it as a real disciple. So he asked Peter that one all-important and heart-searching question: “Peter, do you truly love me?”
It’s still the basic job interview question Jesus asks us today, if we desire to be his disciple. God doesn’t seek people just because they may have lots of talent or ability; he’s not necessarily looking for great intellects, or worlds of experience. God isn’t impressed with a long resume and lots of references. The one basic job requirement, which qualifies us to serve him, is to love him with all our heart.
Oh, how simple that is, and yet how totally profound. For if that love of Jesus controls our being and flows out of our inner self, it determines the course of our life. Love for Jesus—a sold-out, committed love that is evidenced by our lives—is the sum-total of his job requirements, for from that love, everything else falls into place quite naturally.
If you truly love Jesus, you won’t find it difficult to spend time with him. You’ll rearrange your schedule to make time for him. You’ll devour his Word, because it is your bread of life. That’s the normal response from someone who really loves Jesus. In addition, he told us that if we love him, we will keep his commandments. So love produces obedience. Simple, child-like, everyday obedience to his Word and his voice in our lives. Living by Christian principles is not difficult when we truly love Jesus.
Why do you think many Christians are self-absorbed, wallowing in self-pity, never seeming to find ways out of their problems, ineffective for God’s kingdom? Most likely because their love for Jesus is anemic. It doesn’t take a high priority in their lives. Other things and other people are more important.
I believe we desperately need to get back to the basic of loving Jesus, just simply focusing our lives on loving him. That’s the last instruction Jesus gave to Peter, and I believe for us today it is the sum-total of where we’ll find our strength, our joy, our contentment, our power for service.
You remember in the letter to the church at Ephesus, as found in Revelation 2, there was a long list of all the incredibly wonderful things this church had done right. They had persevered and endured hardship and remained faithful and staunch in their obedience to doctrine and teaching. Unlike Peter, they had not had any miserable public failures.
But still the Spirit wrote to that church: “I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” We can do everything right and still miss the basic qualification for service: Loving Jesus.
Now, for a moment use your imagination, and picture yourself in a typical job interview setting. You’ve determined that you want to be a disciple; you want to impact your world for Jesus Christ. And you’ve been called in by Jesus for an interview, to see if you qualify for that job.
There you sit across the desk from the Lord, and he smiles and says, “I certainly would be pleased to have you as part of my team. But before I commission you to this most important job in the whole world, I have one simple question for you. If you can answer this question satisfactorily, then you will qualify. The question is: ‘Do you truly love me?'”
Now he waits for your response. A lump forms in your throat, and you say rather weakly, “Yes, Lord, I do love you.”
“Good,” Jesus replies. “Could you please document that for me by referencing some recent examples where you showed that you love me by your actions?”
The air hangs heavy between you. What will you say? How far back in your past do you have to go to come up with an example of your love for Jesus? How weak is that example?
Would you be tempted to say, “Well, Lord, if you’ll consider my qualifications, I think you’ll be impressed. I have a special gift of leadership, and I’m very good at public speaking. In addition, I know a lot of important people and I’ve been around awhile. I think I’m very qualified to be your disciple.”
“Well,” Jesus says, “that’s nice, but really the only requirement I have is that you love me with all your heart, soul and mind. I just need to be sure that you love me. Do you truly love me?”
How much would you stumble and how embarrassed would you be if Jesus put those three questions to you, as he did to Peter? It is the only thing he asks of us; it is the basic job requirement.
Well, I’m sure like me you’d find that an uncomfortable spot to be in. But, you know, the good news is that all of us can qualify for this job because we can love Jesus if we choose. If Jesus required great talent or intellect, many would be left out. But he asks only for our love, that is enough to be his disciple, and each of us has the ability to give him our heart’s total love and devotion, if we will.
So, don’t worry about your gifts; just love Jesus. No matter what your resume looks like, if you love Jesus—truly love him with the highest priority—you are qualified to serve him. Regardless of your IQ or your education, if you really love Jesus, you can go to the head of the class in discipleship.
And it’s also good news to note that Jesus takes us at whatever level we are in our love for him, as long as we are pursuing him with our whole hearts. We know that Peter was in the “baby stages” of loving Jesus at this point in time. Undoubtedly he felt unsure of himself as he pledged his love to Jesus. Would he fail again? Could he be sure?
But with all that he had at that time, he pledged to Jesus his true love. And Peter grew from there into the great Apostle and disciple that he was, sacrificing his all for his Lord and leading thousands to knowing Jesus themselves. His love grew, but he started at that point with a confession of his love for Jesus and a commitment to keep on loving him.
That’s where we have to start, too. By making a decision to love Jesus supremely. It is our choice. But once we’ve done that, how do we learn to love him more and better every day? Here are some suggestions:
- First, read about Jesus. Start reading the Gospels. Stay in the Gospels all the time. I read through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John continually, at least one chapter every day, and then start over again, so that I read about Jesus every day. Almost without fail, that chapter in the gospels will capture my mind and refocus my love for Jesus, if I’ll just allow it to saturate my thinking. The more you learn about Jesus through the gospels, the more lovely he is. You know, it’s really not difficult to love Jesus when you get to know him.
And one other suggestion. When you’re reading in the Gospels, try to put yourself in the picture. Imagine that you are there, actually hearing Jesus say those words for the first time. I tell you, I’ve never read a chapter in the Gospels that I didn’t see something new about Jesus that just amazed me. He is an incredibly amazing and attractive person. If you read about him daily, you’re bound to love him.
- Talk about Jesus. Every opportunity you have where appropriate, talk about him. If you love someone, you really can’t keep from talking about him or her. You just can’t stifle the words, and those conversations about Jesus will strengthen your love for him.
- Sing about Jesus. Think of choruses or hymns that glorify Jesus, and hum them to yourself, or sing them out loud when you can. That helps me a great deal. Play music about Jesus.
- Praise Jesus. Tell him daily how wonderful he is, how much you love him, how desperate life would be without him. Remind yourself by praising Jesus frequently throughout your day.
My friends, we often get to thinking that we need great personalities or intellects or abilities in order to effectively serve God. But sometimes those things are more a hindrance than a help, if they keep us from the simple focus of making certain that we love Jesus. Truly loving Jesus will produce a pure, clean life, free from selfishness, focused on others.
If you will think about Jesus, read about Jesus, talk about him, sing about him, and praise him frequently, your love will grow, and it will show. So, when Jesus asks you, “Do you truly love me?”, you can honestly reply, “Lord, I love you more than I did yesterday, but by your grace, I want that love to grow so that I’ll love you more tomorrow.”