Love, It’s a Choice!

40 Days after the Resurrection

 

Love

It’s a Choice!

“God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

 Romans 5:8 NIV

 Aren’t you glad He chose to love you

before you could give Him a reason to?

 

That is Agapa love!

 

 Christ has risen and appeared to the disciples.

We saw how Jesus removed the fear and doubt

when He on two occasions entered a locked room

and gave them peace.

It might have seemed harsh that Jesus rebuked their doubt,

but when you realize the hindrances that come through doubt,

no excuse is good.

You have to ask yourself the question,

“What do I know?”

The disciples must have felt

the pressure of the world not being the same.

Peter tries to go back to the life of fishing and 

talks a few of the other disciples into going with him.

As the night wears on,

and they catch no fish,

this question about life must have increased.

Jesus shows up in the morning and tells 

them to cast the net on the right side of 

the boat and they catch so many fish

they can’t pull the net into the boat.

That morning Jesus and the disciples

have breakfast on the beach.

After breakfast, Jesus and Peter have 

a talk about the night the cock crowed

and Peter denied Christ.

Jesus asks Peter three times

“Do you love Me?” 

One time for each denial.

You can image the picture going through Peter’s mind

each time Jesus asks, “Do you love Me”?

Jesus asks Peter the first two times,

“Do you ‘agapa’ Me?”

This type of love is a love without reason;

it is a choice not based on merits of the 

one you are going to love.

Peter answers with the word,

“Philo”

This type of love is a love because;

I love you because you did something 

for me that I appreciated.

When Jesus asks a third time,

He asks Peter,
“Do you ‘philo’ Me?”

Each time Peter answers

he is saying I have a reason to love you;

 “I owe you my love.”

Each time Jesus asks Peter to do something 

with his life based on that love:

“Feed and take care of my lambs and sheep.”

What if Jesus asked us the same question,

“Do you love Me?”

Do you feel the debt of love that causes you

to want to do something for Him?

Scripture Reading

John 21:1-18 NIV

21:1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias.

It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus),

Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee,

and two other disciples were together.

3 "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you."

So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore,

but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"

"No," they answered.

6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some."

When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"

As soon as Simon Peter heard him say,

"It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him

(for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.

8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish,

for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.  

9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it,

and some bread.

10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." 

11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore.

It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.

12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast."

None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord.

13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.

14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples

after he was raised from the dead.

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

"Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." 

16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"

He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." 

17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?"

He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." 

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.”