“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you” – John 21:17
Today during his homily, Father Jijimon (yes, like digimon), explained how off the translation for the Bible was.
When we think of Jesus asking Peter if he loves Him three times, we think about how incessant Jesus is after Peter answers Him. But He never simply asked Peter if he loved Him. He asked if he love Him with agape love – with unconditional, sacrificial love. And Peter answers that he loves Him with phileo love, with a love of friendship and admiration. Jesus wasn’t making Peter repeat his answer – He was asking him to love Him more.
I often think about how many times Jesus has to ask me to love with agape love. How many chances He gives me to show Him that I would do anything for Him. When I first heard the homily I struggled with the fact that Peter did not just say yes. I used to think about how silly Peter was. How dumb he was to hurt our God like that. To deny Him the greatest love. Yes Lord, I love you unconditionally. It’s so easy to say. But I think that’s how Peter and I differ.
When Peter sins he cries bitterly. He sees that he has sinned and is so sorry. He is heartbroken over his failures to God. But for me, I would have easily said yes, and believed it. I would do anything to make God happy. But I would never look deep down, making sure 100% that this answer was true. Because although I would like to love Christ with agape love, my actions don’t show it. I would do whatever it takes, tell Him whatever He wants, to make Him happy, even if it wasn’t the truth. Because words are not enough for our God, it is our actions, our heart, our everything, that He wants.
And though it’s easier to live on the surface, to simply live to make others happy, it’s not the same as unconditional love. It’s not the same as agape. And although any love is amazing, agape is what we strive for. Agape is what God calls for.
Great insight Kaye 🙂