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Lovest Thou Me ? |
By:
Zigfred Diaz |
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lovest thou me ?
Zigfred Diaz
Those words could be said by lovers in this month of hearts. However such words were not said by one lover to another, rather they were uttered by our Lord Jesus Christ as written in John chapter 21 verses 15 to 17.
The passage is somewhat a familiar one among Christians. However I believe that most christians has not fully grasped the meaning of the passage for failure to closely examine the meanings of the words used by Jesus Christ.
The story goes like this, as Jesus and Peter were having dinner, Jesus asked Peter if he loved him to which Peter replied "Yes" and then Jesus told him to "feed my lambs."
After a little while, Jesus again asked the same question to Peter. Peter gave him the same answer. He was then told by Jesus to "Feed my sheep."
The third time around, Jesus ask Peter the same question. But this time instead of answering "yes" the verse says that "Peter was grieved" He then said to the Lord that "thou knowest." Jesus then instructed him to "Feed my sheep."
A lot of people believe that Peter was grieved because he was asked three times by Jesus if he really loved him. But I don't think this is the reason why.
The key to understand the passage is to take a close look at the word "Love" as used by Jesus.
The first time Jesus asked Peter if he loved him, the word used by Jesus is the koine greek word "agapao." This is the word that is used to describe a love that is pure or ideal. This kind of love is that would be willing to die for another person. In effect Jesus was asking Peter if he loved him so much to the extent that would he be willing to die for him.
The answer of Peter was "Yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." Here Simon Peter used the greek word "Phileo" referring to a love with a lesser degree than agapao. Phileo is oftend used for "brotherly love." Jesus Christ asked Peter if he loved him to the extent that he is willing to die for him, but sadly Peter only gave him his brotherly affection.
The second time around, Jesus asked Peter if he loved him using the same word "Agapao" to which Peter answered with the same word "Phileo."
However the third time Jesus Christ asked Peter if he loves him, instead of using the word "Agapao" Jesus used the word "Phileo." In other words Jesus Christ even questioned the brotherly love that Peter has for him. Jesus Christ was asking "Peter, are you sure that you even love me as a brother."
Now we can see the real reason why Peter was grieved. It was not because he was asked three times by Jesus if he loved him. Peter was grieved because even his brotherly affection for our Lord was questioned by no less than Jesus himself. Having no answer, Peter just humbly told the Lord that He knows everything already.
Everytime Jesus ask Peter for his commitment of love, Jesus tells him to do something. Feed my lambs once and feed my sheep twice. In effect, He was telling him that love must be demonstrated by action, not just words.
The application for us is this, how much do we truly love Jesus Christ ?. Do we love him so much that we are willing to die for him? We may not be able to answer this question correctly considering that we live in a free country and we are free to worship God. But what if we are tortured for our faith in Christ? Are we willing to die for the name of Christ ?
But to prove our love for him, we do not have to be tortured for our faith. All we have to do is demonstrate our love for him by being a good example to other Christians, discipling them and helping them grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Zigfred Diaz may not blog about http://www.zdiaz.com/ love meanings everyday but he regularly write about several interesting topics including http://www.zdiaz.com/ how to invest in the Philippine stock market, financial management, investments, as well as other informative topics Visit his blog today
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article71308.html |
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