March 2, 2004

[Kidan]

Quote[/b] ]He said to him the third time, ’. . . do you love Me?’
—John 21:17

Quote[/b] ]Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God. "Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ’Do you love Me?’ " Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’ patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived again. And there was no need for an impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emotional display. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he simply said, "Lord, You know all things . . . ." Peter began to see how very much he did love Jesus, and there was no need to say, "Look at this or that as proof of my love." Peter was beginning to discover within himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes were so fixed on Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the earth below. But he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.

Oh, the wonder of the patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will back us into a corner where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than our words can ever say.

 

[Kidan]

Full Verse:

Quote[/b] ]He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep.

--John 21:17

The Word of God is often described as a sword.  It's designed to cut through our self-illusions, and to illuminate the sin and other un-Christlike areas of our lives.

This hurts.  Having your illusions striped away is never a comfortable feeling.  I had a wonderful illusion of what fatherhood would involve.  IT was  a beautiful illusion, of a sweet quiet baby, that always listened, and would instantly be able to do things and interact with me.  

It shattered when my son was 2 days old.  Having that illusion shattered hurt alot, mainly because my son while often sweet, was rarely quiet.  He especially liked screaming at 2am.

We build illusions up around us, for two reasons, 1) to protect us from unpleasant truths and 2) because we want things to be a certain way.  It's never a pleasant experience when we have to face the cold hard truth through the rosy filters of our illusions.  

Yet when we do so, we when stop believing these lies we tell ourselves, and face things head on we come out stronger.  This is why the Lord is there, questing probing.  THis is why His Word, shows us the sin in our lives.  For without it, we'd sit there, and gladly wallow in it, firmly believing that we're walking sin-free.  When God helps us shatter this illusion of righteousness by showing just how much mud we're sitting in, we are drawn closer to Him.

So today, while you're reading the Word of God, try to look through the illusions you're spinning for yourself, and take a good long look at your life.

Are you clean or is it time to let God wash you again?