“But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” Luke 22:33
As a little girl, I used to pick daisies and while pulling the petals off one at a time; I would say, “He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not, until all the petals were gone.
Jesus asked his disciple Peter three times; if he loved Him? If so; He was to “feed His sheep, or tend His lambs.” Peter was grieved that the Lord asked him three times; so he replied, “Lord, you know I love you.”
I believe Jesus asked Peter three times because He knew he would deny Him three times. In Luke 22:33 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death. Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know me.” And deny the Lord, He did. Three times.
Why would Peter; named by Jesus as Petra, meaning the Rock; deny his Lord? This disciple of Christ was afraid of being associated with Christ in His final hours. Christians were under heavy persecution at this time and some were being martyred for their faith.
Dear reader; I want to ask you; “Do you love Jesus more than anybody or anything?” Are you so afraid of being rejected or verbally persecuted; that you will not mention the Name of Jesus to your family member, co-worker, neighbor or friend?
Paul said in Romans 1:16; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power unto salvation”.
We pray and we pray for the lost people in our sphere of influence; however for some of us; our mouths are clamped tight; when it comes to giving out the most precious truth hidden in our hearts. We will boldly spread gossip in a minute but then refuse to share the gospel of our Lord. It’s so sad.
James tells us in James 3:10; “Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. It ought not be this way.”
If we mean what we say; we truly love Christ who first loved us more than ourselves;,we do not have to say, “He loves me. He loves me not.” We are loved with an everlasting love and we will choose Christ over our own self preservation every time.
Prayer in Motion:
Lord Jesus, I long to love you more than “these.” I want to love you more than myself or anyone else. You created me to worship You. You are my Jesus, whom I love. Help me to get my eyes of myself and put them solely on You Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.
