“How’s Your Love Life?”
John 21:15-17

For a Christian, the supreme question is that which Jesus posed to Simon Peter, "Do you love me?" It seems that Simon Peter had a difficult time understanding the depths of Jesus' question. Jesus used the word "agapas", denoting supreme, God-like love, the first two times He asked the question. To these questions Simon Peter responded, "Lord you know I "philo" you," using the word for brotherly, earthly love. The third time Jesus used the word "phileis", suggesting an evaluation was needed, i.e., "Do you love me as much as you think you do?"

Jesus raised a good question for all of us to answer, "How is your love life?" I believe that there are at least three dimensions to Jesus' question. Jesus' question addresses... 

I. The Priority Of Love, vs. 15, "Lovest thou me more than these?" 

It appears that Jesus' question was directed to the objects of Peter's affection rather than a comparison to the love of the other disciples (Note: We are never admonished to love God more than our neighbor loves God, but rather to love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul.).This was a question regarding the priority of love. Do you love me more than.

A. The Paths of the Past? 
Just off shore were the fishing boats which represented Simon Peter's old life. Could Jesus be saying, "Do you love me more than your old way of life?" There is far too much "looking back". Paul counted the things which he used to love supremely, his accomplishments, his background, his status, all but "dung" that he might win Christ. James says that "a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." The Bible tells us that "no man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven." How is your love life? What "things" in life do you love more wonderfully than the lovely Lord Jesus? Jesus' question regarding the priority of love caused Simon Peter to evaluate not only his old paths but also his love for.

B. The People of the Present. 
We are to love our neighbor as ourselves, but never to put people before our relationship to God. If we are not careful, we can permit normally good and healthy relationships to take priority over our love life with Jesus, i.e., dating, business associates, friends, and even family. We are never to love them less...but to love Jesus more! Jesus described this love when he said, "Any man who comes after me must "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and its righteousness, and all of these things shall be added unto you." Love your job, your vocation...give yourself to being the best you can, but love Jesus supremely in the process. Love Him more than the pleasures and pursuits of life. Never become "lovers of pleasure more than God." How's your love life? Jesus' question addresses not only the priority of love, but also.

II. The Practice Of Love. 

After every response from Simon Peter Jesus directed him to do something. "Feed my sheep." Love always manifests itself in action. The practice of love must be.

A. Personal 
Love is expressed personally, intimately, through our worship. Worship, both private and public, is, in its essence, "loving on God." One primary word used for worship is "pros-kuneo" which literally means, "to kiss." How is your intimate love life of worship? Is it marked by dead, formal ritual or by praise, celebration, and earnest expressions of love to Him? Love is expressed personally. The practice of love must be...

B. Passionate 
Love is expressed passionately in our walk. The word "enthusiasm" comes from a combination of two greek words meaning "full of God." Our walk should be "ablaze" for His glory and not "lukewarm." We are to be passionate about our ministry, our message, our mandate, and our Master. How is your love life? The practice of love must be.

C. Practical 
We express our love practically through our work. In I John 3:18 we are admonished, "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and truth." We must move beyond a "bumper sticker" mentality. Don't just "honk" if you love Jesus...serve...work in the Kingdom. God has uniquely gifted you for service, not simply to sit, soak, and sour. We sing "Sweet Hour Of Prayer" but don't pray. We declare "I Surrender All" but we don't. "Blest Be The Tie That Binds" is sung when there are those among us we refuse to fellowship with. "I Love To Tell The Story" is sung by those who seldom share their faith. Many are AWOL in our Lord's army yet they sing "Onward Christian Soldiers." Jesus asks, "Do you love me?" Jesus was calling not only for evaluation but for expression of our love for Him. Jesus' question also addressed the.

III. Proclamation of Love 

We proclaim our love through our witness. Jesus wanted to hear Simon Peter verbalize his love for Christ. It is music to His ears. We proclaim our love for Christ through our.

A. Confession/Identification 
Our public confession of Christ and our baptism are initial ways we proclaim our love for Christ. We proclaim our love for Christ through.

B. Coronation/Demonstration 
As we make Jesus Lord of our lives and as we demonstrate obedience to Him in every area of our lives, we proclaim the reality of the living Christ to a lost world. We proclaim our love for Christ through our.

C. Declaration/Expression 
"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." The most natural way to express love for Christ is by telling others about Him. A silent tongue indicates that something is wrong with our love life.

Conclusion: The natural response of the believer to the wonderful love of God in Christ is to Prioritize, Practice, and Proclaim our love for Christ. If we love Him we will love that which He loves, i.e. souls, stewardship, service, and the saints. The people of renewed love, all believers, renew their love at the foot of the cross, looking afresh into the eyes of the one who first loved us, the Lord Jesus. How is your love life?