FORWARD In Love - Thursday January 24

The third time he said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
John 21:17

Probably the most piercing, soul searching, vulnerable question of life, “Do you love me?” As the honesty of that question cuts to the heart, I cannot imagine how it must have felt when Jesus asked it. We know to have Jesus ask you this question is an unsettling experience, because later in this verse we learn that the Apostle Peter (Simon, son of John) was hurt by it.
The depth of our love is only discovered by the hurt of Jesus’ question. Peter loved Jesus in the way that any natural person loves anyone else. His love was temperamental, based on his personality, but it did not touch the center of his person.
Until we get wounded out of every deception about ourselves, God’s word and Jesus’ questions are not penetrating our rough exterior. Jesus’ questions hurt like no sin can ever hurt, because sin numbs your feelings. Jesus’ question intensifies your feelings, until to be hurt by Jesus becomes the greatest hurt you have known. God’s word pierces our soul until there is no deception, no manipulation in us.
Jesus’ question was not sentimental. When Jesus asks you questions, polite answers just don’t work. There is never a mistake about the hurt that God’s word brings; the point of the hurt is not pain, but a deeper revelation of God’s love and your heart in light of it.
Let this question pierce your heart today, “Do you love me?”