“Do you love me?” Jesus’, asks Peter. The same Peter who had proclaimed he would never abandoned Jesus but had done so when the pressure was on. As the words pierced his ears, Peter’s soul likely ached with an emptiness that longed to ask the same question of Jesus. “Do you love me Jesus?”
Peter is not alone in his wonder. In a million different ways, we frantically ask God the same question. But “as long as I keep running about asking: ‘Do you love me? Do you really love me?’ I will give all power to the voices in the world and put myself in bondage because the world is filled with ‘ifs.’ The world says: ‘Yes, I love you if you are good-looking, intelligent, and wealthy. I love you if you have a good education, a good job, and good connections. I love you if you produce much, sell much, and buy much.’ There are endless ‘ifs’ hidden in the world’s love. These ‘ifs’ enslave me . . .” to an endless struggle to earn and justify God’s love, but there are no “ifs,” “buts,” or “whens” in God’s answer to our question. There is only Jesus.
Stephen
Quote from Henri Nouwen’s book The Return of the Prodigal Son, 42.