When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him,“Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.
-C. S. Lewis
John 21:15-19
Dr. Olson preached from this passage of scripture in Chapel this morning. He posed the question, "Do you really love God?" I mean...do you REALLY love God?! We as Christians would say that we do...but would our actions show it? Will the evidence of this love be clear in our lives?
Our reaction to this dilema, as Christians, leads us to conform outwardly. We think..."If I start doing things for God, and getting busy at church, or I'll go a missions trip, then I'm loving God." Outward conformity to our ideas of what a Christian is supposed to do, is worthless.
I know I've talked about this before, but It is so easy to forget it in my sad worthless Child of God existence (almost said "My Walk with the Lord", but I realized that makes it sound like it's my effort that makes me walk with God...left to myself, I would not have sought after God).
A truly, deep, humble, broken Christian life is marked not by outward conformity, but by a seeking after God. Seeking to know and understand Him more and more. It also means asking God to give us the love that He loves us with. To be honest, though...we can never achieve this on this earth. It is truly impossible to love God, and others as much as He loves us...but He can teach us how to get close...but we must never get to the point where we feel we've "arrived"...for it is at that moment that we are so puffed up in our own pride, that we truly have not "arrived"...
When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.
-C. S. Lewis
Comments
I love how you put it that way about mission trips and being busy at church because I have been thinking about that a lot lately. Going on a missions trip is not enough to purify us. Being at Church every time the doors are open doesn't make us a good, committed, steadfast, Christian whose only goal is to glorify and love God.
Great post!
A.J (gwyn)