The Upward Calling (2)

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” John 21.15

The question
Jesus’ question to Peter is deliberately vague: “Do you love Me more than you love these things?” Peter might have thought within himself, “What things?” But I suspect that thought, if it did occur to him, didn’t last very long. Peter knew what Jesus was asking.

Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Him more than any of these things – the fishing, the friends, the fire, the food, all the trappings of life in the world – and if he loved Him more than all these things. Because, as we know, Peter had not that long before this moment on that Galilean shore clearly demonstrated that, no, in fact, he did not love Jesus enough to own up to being one of His followers. He loved his life, his freedom, his safety, his being unhindered and unharmed more than he loved Jesus.

Jesus’ question, therefore, was eminently fair, given the background.

As we consider the requirements of following Jesus, the same question comes to you and me: Do we love Jesus more than anything and everything else? Are we willing to renounce everything, to sacrifice all, to give whatever is required of us in order to love Jesus and follow Him?

Unless we can answer that question in the affirmative, we have no hope of becoming true followers of the Lord. For discipleship begins in a willing and eager soul – a heart, mind, and conscience completely devoted to Jesus Christ in love. Jesus’ question to Peter was meant both to confront him, so that he would face up to the condition of his soul, and to restore him, so that he could move on from past failures into a new life of true discipleship.

Examine yourself
At the end of two very difficult letters to the Christians in Corinth, the Apostle Paul proffered a challenge not unlike that which Jesus put before Peter. In the light of all he’d seen of the Corinthian church – its schisms, immorality, lack of spiritual maturity, self-centeredness, and all the rest – Paul had reason to question the reality of the Corinthians’ confession of faith. These people talked a good game when it came to Christianity, but they sure didn’t live the faith that Jesus taught. In 2 Corinthians 13.5 Paul sternly instructed the believers in Corinth, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.”

He might just as well have asked them, “Do you love Jesus more than these – all these squabbles, all this complacency, this lackadaisical attitude toward sin, this vaunting of pseudo-spirituality, this taking advantage of one another, this flouting of God’s plan for worship? Do you love Jesus more than these?”

This is the question, and this is the challenge to every one of us: Examine yourself!

The soul that loves Jesus
“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,/I will not, I cannot desert to his foes.”  So wrote Robert Keen in his 1787 hymn, “How Firm a Foundation.” The soul that rests on Jesus is completely at home in Him, finds its security and joy in Him, desires only to be with Him and in Him forever, and turns a blind eye to anything that might distract or divert him from the companionship of His Lord. This is the soul of a true follower of Jesus, one who loves Him more than anything and everything else.

The soul that rests on Jesus grows from a mind set on Christ, a mind devoted to studying Him in the gospels, meditating on Him exalted in glory, and seeking Him in all the ways He reveals Himself day by day.

The soul that rests on Jesus involves a heart captivated by the loveliness of Jesus, in awe of His majesty and strength, delighting to see and participate in Him, and eager to love Him more.

The soul that rests on Jesus has Jesus and pleasing Him as its first priority in all things. Its conscience is tuned to the priorities of God’s Law and the agenda of the risen Christ, and nothing is more important than what Jesus wants at any moment.

The soul that thus loves Jesus will be eager to prove its love for Him in words and deeds of complete and ungrudging obedience. And it is in such obedience that the rewards of such love will be known. Though it cost us everything to follow Jesus, we will begrudge the loss of nothing, just as long as we are following Jesus, rapt in love and devoted in the whole of life to Him and His glory.

Do we love Jesus like this? Examine yourself: Do you love your life more than Jesus? Do you love Jesus because of what you think He can do for you? Or do you love Him simply because He alone is worthy of love, because He has first loved us so completely and so well?

For reflection
1.  What kinds of things typically get in the way of Christians following Jesus more consistently?

2.  Is fear of other people a hindrance to follow Jesus? Why?

3.  What’s involved in keeping your mind, heart, and conscience focused on following Jesus?

Next steps – Preparation: What “test” would you establish to help a new believer determine whether or not his actions at any moment were consistent with love for Jesus? What should we be looking for in our souls – our minds, hearts, and consciences? Talk with some Christian friends about these questions.

T. M. Moore

This week’s study, The Upward Calling, is Part 1 of a 5-part series on Following Jesus.Each week’s study is available in a free PDF which you can download by clicking here. Watch the video on our Mission Partners Outreach for more information about how you can begin to follow Jesus in your Personal Mission Field (click here).

Want to learn more about your Christian worldview? Our free online course, One in Twelve, is available any time, and at no charge. Click here to learn more about this exciting introduction to Christian worldview, presented by T. M. Moore.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.