"Do You Love Me?"

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 25:13B-21 ~~Psalm 103~~ John 21:15-19 ~~~

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

In the early days of courtship/dating,
 either the woman or the man poses an important question...
"Do you love me?"
We often need the reassurance.
We are looking for concrete signs
 of the existence of the other person's love for us.
The over used words of 'I love you' have become so generic.

Jesus poses the same question to Peter in today's Gospel.
“Simon, son of John, 
do you love me more than these?”

Jesus wants a comparative answer...do you love me more....
How do you answer such a question?
Is it ever possible to gauge another's love compared to yours?
What would be the unit of measure?

Love cannot really be competitive
because there is always room to love more...
more deeply...more completely...and more individuals.

Jesus continues to question Peter each time raising the bar.
If..........then......
Jesus is telling Peter; if you love me then you must do these things...
feed his lambs, tend his sheep, and feed his sheep.

In other words if you love me Peter,
 you must do as you have seen me do while we were together.

To love Jesus is to care for those he loves.

Jesus found so very many ways to show his great love.
We could hardly compare, but he wants us to keep trying.
To love him more is to follow him;
and to follow him is to love others more.
We can never exhaust our supply of love.
Jesus is the constant supplier.
The well of love can never run dry.

Blessed to be given the opportunity to stretch our capacity for love.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

We can best love Jesus if we also love those he loved.
Follow in his footsteps of love.

This is how to answer his question...
'Do you love me?'
Peace