"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" John 21:15

Insert your name in place of Simon; Christ is asking this question of each and every believer. Do we really love God? Or do we love the benefits we can receive from God? How sincerely are we committed to a relationship? What does the Word say regarding loving God? Modern man is quick to quote that God loves us. "For God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life." We are all familiar with this passage, but how familiar are we with our responsibility and duty to love God in return? Bear in mind that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same. Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Matthew 5:17

We find the requirements mankind must meet from Genesis through Revelation. Let us examine what the Word says regarding loving God. Leviticus 22:31 Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD. That is pretty straightforward and simple to understand. If you have ever wondered what God wants, a good answer is found in Deuteronomy 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

What God wants is for man to love Him for Himself, to have a heart for God, and to be obedient. What most people want is for God to bless them and to keep them safe from harm. We have no problem accepting that God loves us. Yet few give serious consideration to our reasonable duty to respond to God's love by loving God equally in return. One of the greatest demonstrations of our love for God is when we obey Him, when we keep his commandments. (32,33) Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

We see here the stipulations God has placed on man, what we must do to have long life and His blessings. We would do well to note the comparison between those things that the Lord commanded the people to do so long ago, and what is required of believers today. Is there a difference? How in line is the perception we have of God today with the Word?

Deuteronomy Chapter 6:

5. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

13 Thou shalt fear (revere) the Lord thy God, and serve (to work, labor, be bondmen) him, and shalt swear (be complete) by his name.

14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you.

16 Ye shall not tempt (test, prove, try) the Lord your God.

17 Ye shall diligently keep (guard, protect, attend to) the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

The result we can expect if we fail to do the above is also recorded for our benefit.

1 Kings 9:6-9 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: and at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshiped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.

We need to get our priorities straight. God is interested in the hearts of men, not the buildings they can build. We are the temple of the Lord. There are three things that will bring the wrath of God upon our heads. They are disobedience, rebellion and unbelief. We cannot give place in any of these areas and hope to maintain a relationship with God. God is Holy, and throughout the Word we are instructed to be Holy: to be as He Is. Repeatedly in the recorded Word we see the results of rebellion. God didn't just pat the Israelites on the head and say "now, now, stop doing that." He sent destruction upon them. He cast them away from His presence. He would not hear their cries and pleas for help. Not because He didn't care or love them, but because they did not love Him. They refused God, they rejected his commandments, they rebelled and chose their own way. We are faced with the same choice today. 'God's way' or 'my way,' which will I choose?

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. Jesus was quite explicit here, just as God was explicit to the Israelites of old. Lip service will not cut it. We express how much we love Christ, by how well we keep his commandments. It's that simple. Jesus is not asking us to do anything that is beyond our capabilities. He is not requiring that we do anything that he has not already done.

John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. Our Lord walked in perfect obedience to all that the Father requested of him on this earth. He set the perfect example we are called to follow. He has sent the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) to lead us into all truth. We have the benefit of not having to accomplish this in our own strength. He is in us, He is our strength, He is our wisdom, He is our refuge, if we love Him and obey Him.

One of the most graphic examples of God's desire to be loved by us is found in John 21:14-18 This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him a third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.

The concordance definition for lovest in verse 17 means ... embracing, especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety. This sheds more light on loving. Love is not an emotion or feeling that comes and goes. Love is a commitment. How many times have you thought of loving God as embracing God's judgment? Of deliberating agreeing with God? Of loving God as is our duty? Yes, he first loved us while we were yet sinners. How much more then should we return his love without reservation, unconditionally? How do we do that?

By keeping his commandments. By walking in the same obedience that Jesus walked in. By living according to the dictates of the Spirit rather than and opposed to the dictates of our flesh. It is impossible to do these things in our own strength. We cannot die to our flesh by ourselves. We are totally dependent on God to work this transformation within us. Only as we look to him, lean on him, trust and believe in him can we come to know him. Only as we surrender our will to his will, and walk in the light we have received, can we begin to grow spiritually.

Love is a marketable commodity in today's world. It comes and goes, people marry and divorce as the whim suits them. Commitment is a word that holds very little meaning in this world. People change allegiances like they change clothes. Is it any wonder that Jesus is asking us, "lovest thou me?"

Peter's feelings were hurt when Jesus repeatedly asked him this question. His pain and embarrassment were compounded by what he had experienced just days before. In the garden of Gethsemane Peter had lopped off a soldiers ear trying to defend Jesus when they came to arrest him. Then as the night wore on, three times he was questioned, and three times he denied knowing or ever having been associated with Christ. As the cock crowed Peter remembered that Jesus had told him he would deny him three times; and he had. We can only imagine the remorse, sorrow and humiliation Peter experienced in those dark hours. He had spent three years in the constant company of Jesus. He had witnessed all the miracles, heard all the teachings, he believed that Jesus was the Son of God, yet he felt he had miserably failed his Lord. Now, the risen Christ was putting the question to him, "lovest thou me" Peter? Jesus was not rubbing in Peter's shortcoming. He was not trying to make him feel bad. He was making a point. The love that Peter had for the Lord was as sincere and great as humanly possible. Carnal love is not enough. We can have the very best of intentions and yet fall short. Because the Lord knows the end as well as the beginning, he knew what lay ahead in Peter's life. He was stressing that to do the work that lay ahead of him, Peter needed more than he was in possession of the night Jesus was taken.

When Peter cut off the soldier's ear, his intention was noble, but his understanding was darkened. He did not comprehend, even though the Lord had told them, that it was necessary for Jesus to give his life. To the natural, reasoning mind it was incomprehensible. Shortly thereafter, Peter received the comforter that Christ had promised to send: the Holy Spirit. We cannot even love God of ourselves. To stand up to persecution; to walk in the power of God in an unbelieving world; to be an instrument used to set the captives free, heal the sick and defeat the powers of darkness requires the Spirit of the living God within us. It requires our total commitment to God: our death to the things of this world. Multitudes in today's world profess to love God, but fail to keep his commandments. Jesus came not to do away with the law, but to demonstrate the fulfillment of the law. Phil. 3:9, 10 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. Trying to keep the commandments of God in our own strength is trying to have our own righteousness. When we love God, when we believe and have faith in Jesus, we partake of His righteousness. When we share the things that he suffered, we die to our flesh and live by the Spirit of God within these vessels of clay.

Jesus is calling out to us today, "Lovest thou me?" God knows those that are his and those that are not. Let us not deceive ourselves that we are something we are not, or that we are farther along than we really are. What awaits those who use the name of Jesus but fail to love the Lord and keep his commandments? Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity (wickedness, unrighteousness).

David knew the importance of obedience and relationship. Ps.103:17,18 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; to such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. There is a subtle deception we should be aware of, that being confusing the facts. We often assume that because God loves us, we can fail to meet our responsibility as a member of His household and get away with it. We cannot. If we want to enjoy His mercy, then we must do those things He has commanded.

Every man or woman that has ever achieved anything for the promotion of the kingdom of God, has had a full understanding of the importance of keeping God's commandments. They did not do 'their own thing' and try to put God's stamp of approval on their efforts as many are doing today. The Lord dearly loved Peter. He knew the job that lay ahead of Peter, and that the only way Peter could accomplish the task before him was through the power of a vital, love relationship with Christ. We find this relationship as we surrender to God's Spirit within, as the spiritual becomes more of a reality to us than the physical.

In our flesh we cannot keep these commandments. When we are unjustly accused, when we are slandered or persecuted, we may be able to control our expression and hold our tongue, but inside we will feel all the natural negative reactions of the flesh. Anger, resentment, revenge, jealousy, envy, strife, these are all quite natural reactions. To suffer persecution and respond with love that is sincere, requires that we be joined in close union with Jesus Christ himself. You will know that you are there when something negative happens and even you are surprised by the response that wells up inside you. There is no doubting when it is God in you, and not yourself. We need to recognize that what the world needs are not more do-gooders, operating from their own understanding and strength. The world doesn't need more self-appointed martyrs, suffering to be seen of men. What the world needs, is the manifestation of the Sons of God walking in power and love and under the unction and control of the Holy Spirit. Unbelievers can see right through religious play-actors. When the lost see the genuine love of God manifest they respond. There is no greater turn-off than hypocrisy.

1 Cor. 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. We need to get our eyes off the messenger (men) and focus on the message. Multitudes of Christians in our world have spent years faithfully attending church, yet would be hard pressed to tell you what the commandments of Christ are. Many go through the accepted motions of worship, yet have never made that personal connection with God. It is not enough to accept that God loves us. We must love God. We must walk in all His commandments. The 13th Chapter of 1 Corinthians is often referred to as the love chapter. The kind of love expounded on in this chapter can only be manifest by the power of God. That power is available to every believer that will willingly press in to a love relationship with their Lord. Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. May we walk in the commandments of the Lord. May we love the Lord more than we love our self, or the things of this world. Jesus is asking, "Lovest thou me, more than these?" What will our answer be?