"Lovest Thou Me?"
John 21:17
This is a question that deserves the
reasonable consideration of everyone who professes to be a christian.
Salvation or the lack of it, life or death, heaven or hell
depend upon our ability to honestly answer this question that our Lord
asked of his disciple - "Lovest thou me?"
EVERY TRUE BELIEVER LOVES THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST. A christian is a person who has been redeemed
by the blood of Christ, born again by the Spirit of Christ, and granted faith
in Christ. A christian is a person who seeks in all
things to follow, obey, and honor the Lord Jesus Christ because he loves
Christ. If a person does not love Christ, he is not a child of God (John
"WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED
US" (I John
THIS LOVE FOR CHRIST, OR THE LACK OF IT,
IS SOMETHING THAT CAN, SHOULD, AND MUST BE KNOWN. It is not a mysterious thing.
"How do we know whether we love any person upon earth? In what manner does
love show itself between people in this world? Let these questions be answered
by common sense," wrote J. C. Ryle, "and the knot before us is
untied." Then he gave eight marks of love, by which we know whether we
love anyone, by which we know whether we love Christ. If you love a person, you
like to think, hear, and read about him. You like to please him and talk to
him. You like his friends and are jealous to promote his name and honor. If you
love someone you just like to be with him. In the light of these things, let us
answer our Lord's question - "LOVEST THOU ME?"
Don Fortner