John 21:15-19 – “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you ^[f]love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I ^[g]love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” ¹⁶ He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you ^[h]love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I ^[i]love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” ¹⁷ He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you ^[j]love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you ^[k]love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I ^[l]love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep. ¹⁸ Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” ¹⁹ Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, “Follow Me!”

I find this account incredibly inspiring and deeply troubling at the same time.  This account in John 21 is exciting and inspirational. Some have suggested that Jesus asking the same question three times was a reminder of Peter’s three denials.  That is possible, but I believe there was a much deeper purpose and one that applies to us today.

Jesus asked, “Do you Agape Me?”  Peter responded with the word Phileo.  Phileo is the brotherly kind of love that may be deep but not the zenith of love.   It leaves room for self and selfishness.

Jesus asked two more times, and I believe He was nudging Peter to see the deficiency in his profession of love and to move to the ultimate love that is unconditional and unshakable – Agape. Peter was filled with himself (like us).  Peter had denied Jesus in an attempt at self-preservation.   Peter was impulsive and reacted to external stimuli.

I believe that Jesus was molding Peter’s thinking to equip him. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  The question is germane: How deeply do we genuinely love the Lord?  Jesus said IF you Agape Me, you WILL keep my commandments.  The measure of our love is revealed in what we do, not what we say.  However, what we say flows out of what is in our hearts. 

When our hearts, words, and deeds align, we know Him fully and manifest Him.  We can live in a way (outwardly) that says we are something.   We can speak with words that suggest we are something.   We can do deeds that seem to indicate we are one thing, but the heart is the key, and God knows the heart.

We must know God; to know God, we must know our hearts.  We can choose Agape or Phileo.  In that choice, the door opens wide to know Him in the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering, and become conformed to and transformed by His death.  We die to ourselves in choosing to live unto Him.

Love is a choice, not just an emotion.   Love grows; it is not a one-time deposit.  Love strives to honor its object.  Love liberates.  Agape sets the heart free because it eliminates the need to protect itself.  It fully surrenders, and in that surrender, it discovers life to the fullest.

The question for each of us is, “Are we alive?”  Do we Agape?  If we see the Cross, we see Agape.  If we believe in the Cross, we receive Agape.  If we receive Agape, we begin to be transformed and become vessels of God’s power.   We become Who He said we are through Agape, the ultimate and unconditional love.

There is no time like the present for us to begin the journey into learning to Agape!  Today is our day to Agape!  Today is our day to close the door on the past and discover the depth, breadth, and height of your purpose and power in God.  Refuse to be less than complete.

May the Lord richly bless you as you move into the realm of Agape and experience God’s Love more powerfully in your life!