"Lovest thou Me?"

During my scripture reading this morning the famous passage of John 21 came to my attention. This is the passage where Jesus asked Peter the following question "Lovest thou me?" I will not attempt to do an exegesis of this scriptural conversation between Peter and Christ but I do believe that the Lord spoke some challenging thoughts in my spirit. Each of us must answer that question for ourselves. Other individuals my make statements concerning their identification of our love for Christ but we are the only ones who truly know whether or not that love is perceived or whether that love is real. Today's blog is not meant to speak condemnation on our lives by any means but it is meant to challenge our thoughts concerning our relationship with Christ. The true expression of love for someone requires us to face the responsibilities that are associated with loving that individual. Was not Christ desiring for Peter to understand that principle? Love is more than some warm, fuzzy, emotional feeling. True love encompasses commitment, sacrifice, submission, and self denial just to name of few of the requirements. Many of us in the modern day church do not enjoy hearing those words spoken in the same breath with the concept of love. We want love with no strings attached; we want love with no responsibility to respond in an appropriate manner to the individual with which we desire to share that love. We want the "fruit" of love but in many cases we seek to avoid any area of responsibility that may be required of us. I believe that Jesus wanted Peter to understand this principle; the true love that Peter felt in his heart for Christ would place him in the position to follow Christ down the road of obedience, surrender, and true discipleship. I also believe that true love would be expressed through action and not just the mere use of words. We can use words that try to express our feelings but the true love for Christ must be lived out in our actions toward God and toward our fellow man. Ponder this question with me; "Am I truly walking as a devoted disciple of Christ or is my connection with Christ simply based on feelings and emotions?" I sincerely feel that Christ is looking for disciples who are committed to following Him wherever He may lead them. Dear God, work in my life until I can become the devoted disciple that you desire for me to become.