Saying Vs. Doing

John 21:17  "He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."

At church last evening the question to the congregation was "Do you love Jesus?" Everyone said they did! I said it to myself for a reason which will shortly be divulged.

This question has been asked many times before, but the time of most notoriety was when it was asked by Jesus himself! "Simon... lovest thou me?" asked Jesus of Simon Peter. His amswer, just as everyone last night, was "I love thee". Jesus heard, but I'm not sure he believed for he said "Feed my sheep." In essence, Jesus said "You say it; then do it!" The proof is in the pudding as we would say now!

Jesus was there in the flesh. He was easy to love because he had everything going for him to be loved. Peter surely could have put his arms around Jesus and hugged him tightly. Peter could have, if he loved him as much as he said, have anointed the feet of Jesus just as this woman did before:

Luke 7:44 "And he (Jesus) turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little."

"Love" is more than an emotion. It is a "work". It takes DOING to love another person. This woman loved Jesus. She demonstrated it with her tears, the washing of his feet, dried them with her own hair, kissed his feet and anointed his them. What did Simon Peter do? Nothing!  We don't know why for sure, but this woman loved Jesus so much because Jesus had forgiven her of so much!

Simon had been a mere fisherman when he was recruited by Jesus. We have little idea what kind of man he was, but he surely knew scripture well. It is conceivable that Simon was a righteous man, a hard worker and probably faithful to God. As such, he was chosen, not only as an apostle, but to build a church:

Matthew 16:15 "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

So here we have it: Peter at first failed to show love, then he professed his belief in Jesus because God had  revealed it to him and he was the chosen instrument to grow the church. After all this divine intervention, Peter had not been "saved" from much because he had not been a chief sinner as had Paul. Sure he was a sinner, but his sins were few in comparison to the woman who anointed Jesus' feet. Out of gratitude she demonstrated her love, but Peter didn't. Who loved Jesus the most? Jesus knew who did! It was the woman.  That's why Jesus asked of Simon "Lovest thou me?"

Jesus wanted some love! In essence, he was saying 'Show me your love!" Peter's job was to grow a church. How was he to do that "Feed my sheep." said Jesus. Now we need to look at how to feed the sheep. First of those sheep are us... mankind. Before we follow the Good Shepherd we must be gathered into the herd. It takes work to do that! We show love by DOING! Love is hard work!

Before sheep come into the fold all fear must be gone. They sense the love of the shepherd. How was Peter to show Jesus how much he loved him? By loving others; his "sheep"!

Whereas Peter didn't know how to love, John did! He was noted as "the apostle who loved Jesus"! He's called "John the Beloved". What was it that John shared about love:

1 John 5:2 "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments."

We know that we're Christians when we do things for God! How did John know that? Jesus told him:

 John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

That brings up the question, "What are his commandments?" It's loving God and loving others.

 Matthew 22:37 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

Jesus makes a connection here. We show our love to him by loving others. That's a WORK since it's a command. It's hard work, but to demonstrate our love, that's what we are ordered to do! What Jesus was saying is "Peter, if you love me. Prove it by loving others!"

Therefore, if we love Jesus it's more than saying so! Peter did that, but he later denied Jesus three times. His love was lip-service. It was all saying with no doing. Of course later, Peter learned to love, but Jesus taught him how to do that by dying for him and all mankind. Peter turned out to be a loving apostle and gathered the sheep. Peter later loved Jesus by DOING what he SAID.

Now back to last night. Everyone automatically repeated the mantra "I love Jesus". Some there I know don't love me. I am hard to love, I admit, because my sins are many. I'm too proud, too arrogant, too much of a know-it-all, as is nearly all the others. When they said "I love Jesus!" my thoughts were "Then show it; love others!"

This is not all about me. I don't deserve love, but I sort of like it. I love others and it's nice to be loved back! However, I know the hearts of some. They gossip, they ridicule, they play favorites, they show their love to some, but not others; and frankly, if they truly love others; it's hard to see that they do.

I didn't want to say "I love Jesus." so others could hear because others may hold something against me. They may "feel" that I'm not a loving person. They may make that assumption and think "Larry says that he loves Jesus, but he doesn't love me!" I don't want anyone to think that. I tell Jesus that I love him by loving others. It's easy to say, but difficult to DO!

Likewise, when others say "I love Jesus.", I think "Then do it!". In other words those who fail to show love to others, even when they say they love Jesus, lose their credibility just as Peter lost his. "Peter, you say that you love me, but then you show me no love!"

Most people in the church can say "I love Jesus!" because they demonstrate it with love. I have some of the best friends in church that I've ever had. They show love for me, my family and anyone who walks through the door. I am blessed by those there who truly love me. However, even if one person at church holds something against me and I can't reconcile with them, it's a thorn in my side. Before I bring my offering to the altar, I must make amends even if I'm not the one at fault (Matthew 5:23-26).

I take reconciliation seriously! I cannot go on as everything is A-OK when I know that a brother is at odds with me for whatever reason. On the other hand, if they have something against me and have not reconciled, they are not demonstrating love. "George lovest thou me?" If George doesn't, how can he say "Jesus, I love you.".

Because others don't love me, it impedes on being of one accord before the Holy Ghost joins us (Acts 2). To be of one accord essentially means that the church is to be a loving institution where the fold is loving and differences are reconciled. I believe that before any Christian can be anointed to speak boldly for the Lord, he must be reconciled with all. Maybe that's just me, but I believe genuine love for each other is essential for Christians to truly love Jesus!

My reason for not saying "I love Jesus." out loud. Because I'm not reconciled to everybody. Reconciliation is both parts of the two parts. Only one person can't be reconciled. It takes two. My prayer is that we can all be of one accord in the church; that we can all "feed his sheep" together!