Have You Felt the Pain Inflicted by
the Lord?
He said to him the third time, ’. . . do you love Me?’ —John 21:17
Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted
by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive
area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor
human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word
of God. “Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ’Do you love Me?’ ” Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the center of
his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’
patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in
Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived again. And there was no need for an
impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emotional display. It
was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with
amazement he simply said, “Lord, You know all things . . . .” Peter began to
see how very much he did love Jesus, and there was no need to say, “Look at
this or that as proof of my love.” Peter was beginning to discover within
himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes
were so fixed on Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the
earth below. But he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the
Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.
Oh, the wonder of the patient
directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions
until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will
back us into a corner where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then
we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than our words can ever
say.
(Taken from Oswald Chambers – “My Utmost
for His Highest” March 2)