Peripatetics: The Art of Walking
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Food For Thought
John 21: 15--17, from The Message:
"After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?'
'Yes, Master, you know I love you.'
Jesus said, 'Feed my lambs.'
He then asked a second time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?'
'Yes, Master, you know I love you.'
Jesus said, 'Shepherd my sheep.'
Then he said it a third time: 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?'
Peter was upset that he asked for the third time,'Do you love me?' so he answered, 'Master, you know everything there is to know. You've got to know that I love you.'
Jesus said, 'Feed my sheep.'"
From Pete Greig in The Vision and the Vow:
"Next I invite you to imagine that you are looking beyond the words on this page, into the face of Jesus, and as you do so, His eyes are kindly, quietly burning into yours. You can feel them like lasers probing your heart. And as He looks at you, her Him speaking your name. Notice how softly He repeats it. But as He says your name, you glimpse a slight furrowing of the brow and a hint of pain dulling the kindness in His eyes. Seeing this, you become slightly self-conscious, aware that you are naked of ambition and pretense, nobody but yourself alone with Him. And Jesus is looking more deeply into you now than anyone has ever done before. He speaks your name with that hint of pain, and then comes the question we have been preparing ourselves to hear--the challenge is more painful than any other.
The question is this:
'Do you love me?'
That's it. Just four words. Big deal.
And of course you know the answer right away. With a relieved smile, you reply immediately: 'Yes, Lord, You know I do.' You've sung it a million times in church, and so, without a second thought, you say, 'Yes.' We all say, 'Yes.' Hey--we're people who read Christian books! 'Yes, Lord, of course I love You!'
But the Lord's gaze is unbroken, and He is not mirroring your grin. He seems troubled by your reply. The question is coming again.
'Do you really love me?'
A second time--does He doubt me? A little offended, you pause before answering, and as you do so, the question begins to penetrate. The intensity in Jesus' eyes is even greater, the dark probing lasers of His question going deeper still. And of course, you know why He doubts your first reply. He of all people sees those sins you've allowed to float to the surface. This is the question God has been wanting to ask for a while now, and at last you are coming to Him with ears to hear and a vulnerable heart that will not simply dodge the question without a little thought. It's a real question from a Friend you sometimes hurt and a Lord who knows you deny Him more often than you let on. Hence the pain when He speaks your name. As you reflect on these things--your quick confessions of love, your easy infidelity, and your embarrassment now--you notic Him nodding very slightly as if readin gyour mind. And, maybe, just maybe, there is the faintest mist of a tear appearing in His eyes.
Whisper your reply.
Perhaps there is a hint of pain and shame in your features now, because something changes in the face before you. You see tears welling up, unmistakeably, but instead of sadness, there is joy. The eyes of your Lord looking at you seem now to have melted into such kind puddles of utter affection that you feel loved as deeply as you realize you are known. Of course, you understand by now that the question must come a third time, but you never expected there to be such surprising vulnerability in the One who asks:
'Do you even like me?'
So, for today...what do you think about when you read this?
Brent 7:09 AM
Comments:
I know I'm not in high school anymore...and I have restrained from commenting for a LONG time. But I just can't believe that no one out there has something so say about this post. In all seriousness this stirs up tears and hurt in areas that I don't want them to be. It just highlights the fact that I even need God's love to love him back.
"you deny Him more often than you let on"- if you can't identify with that I would love to meet you, because you're 100 times the man I'll ever be....sorry for commenting, Brent. I couldn't hold it in.
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"you deny Him more often than you let on"- if you can't identify with that I would love to meet you, because you're 100 times the man I'll ever be....sorry for commenting, Brent. I couldn't hold it in.
