this post-resurrection appearance, Jesus asks Peter, Do you agape Me? Peter, through the crushing experience of his denial of Jesus, has gained a new self-awareness and replies, Yes, Lord, you know that I phileo You. There is now no attempt to impress Jesus with how spiritual or how committed he is. All pretense is gone. By using the word phileo in his response, Peter admits that he does not love the Lord supremely. He likes Him as a friend but is very aware that he would not lay down his life for Him. How many professing Christians are like Peter in this passage. They like Jesus. Jesus would get their vote. But they are unwilling to set aside their own self-interests for Him and His purposes. They phileo Him but they do not agape Him.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 00:09:30 +0000
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