I'm thrilled about the baby boom happening in our church lately. There's nothing quite like witnessing the birth and growth of new life to bring us joy. I believe our church needs a spiritual baby boom too. While a physical baby boom happens when men and women love each other, a spiritual baby boom occurs when members of the church love Christ. Love is always a tricky subject because it takes time for us to grasp its full meaning. Children can only understand the depth and breadth of parental love once they become parents themselves. Before becoming parents, things that seemed obvious require a lot of effort and dedication to comprehend. You don't do things for your children because someone is paying you; you do it out of love for them. Even without receiving a cent, you do what needs to be done because it's the right thing to do. However, while infants and young children may feel the absence of that love, they might not fully grasp the abundance of love they're receiving because it's what sustains their lives. That love becomes a natural part of their existence, but parents understand the tremendous effort and dedication it takes to sustain that love. We can relate this to our spiritual journey of salvation. When we talk about evangelizing, people often find it challenging. Yet, it's through those efforts and dedication that lives are transformed. However, when done out of a passionate love for Jesus and souls, it doesn't seem so daunting because it feels like the natural thing to do. Feeding formula to a baby is incredibly challenging and exhausting, yet we never see parents giving up on it because they love their child. Instead, they find joy and fulfillment when the baby eagerly drinks the milk. Let's pray for a spiritual baby boom in our church. It's a dream I hold.

[Peter's Denial]

[Who was Peter?] Peter is well known as one of Jesus' disciples. He was fiery and impulsive, prone to mistakes, yet loved Jesus more than anyone else. He was a fisherman. Aren't sailors a bit rough around the edges? But Peter was resolute. When Jesus called him, he immediately left his livelihood, his nets, and his boat to follow Jesus. And when Jesus was arrested, Peter, wielding the sword he carried, attempted to defend Him, slicing off the ear of a servant. These incidents shed light on Peter's character.

But for all his fiery, righteous courage, he also displayed his inherent weakness when he succumbed to despair and made a grave error. It wasn't a mere slip-up like a tossed-off blanket; it was an irredeemable mistake, even after repeated attempts to wash it away. He had declared, with unwavering confidence, that even if all others abandoned Jesus, he would follow Him to death. I believe he meant it. Yet, when confronted at the high priest's courtyard while warming himself by the fire, and accused by a servant girl of being one of Jesus' followers, he denied it.

Through this incident, Peter must have felt as if his passionate, righteous self had been invalidated. He discovered his hypocrisy and pride, realizing that what he thought he could do was utterly impossible. He stood before Jesus, proudly proclaiming how much he loved Him. He had faith in himself. Though others might not know, he was sure he would never betray Jesus. Yet, under the soldiers' threats, he didn't just deny Jesus, but he betrayed Him in the accusation of a servant girl.

[Awkward Relationship] When Peter denied Jesus, he became a betrayer in His eyes. To betray the one you trusted most is a tremendous shock. But our Lord already knew Peter would do this. The issue lies with Peter. He didn't deny Jesus because he wanted to; he truly loved Him. Yet, he was seized by fear and denied Him. Now, an awkward situation unfolded between Jesus and Peter. Peter had already recognized his serious mistake; he knew what he had done wrong.

In human relationships, sometimes misunderstandings lead to estrangement. If one party is at fault, reconciliation can occur if the wrongdoer apologizes and seeks forgiveness. However, in most cases, determining who is right or wrong is difficult. Then the relationship simply drifts apart because it's awkward to face each other. I've seen this happen more than once in ministry. Believers leave the church due to awkward incidents, avoiding each other because they can't face the awkwardness. Yet, if there's genuine love, the attitude changes. You'll do whatever it takes to restore the relationship. You'll hope for reconciliation. The church isn't a place where all human relationships are smooth. I've witnessed close relationships suddenly rupture, even among those who were very close. But with genuine love for Christ, efforts are made to restore those relationships. Without Christ's love, there's no reason to reconcile.

Peter was someone who loved Jesus. If Jesus had just died and that was it, perhaps Peter would have carried the guilt of denying Him for the rest of his life. But thankfully, Jesus resurrected. This meant Peter had a chance to genuinely repent before Jesus. The resurrection is an indescribable event for everyone, but for Peter, it was especially significant because it gave him an opportunity to truly repent before Jesus.

 

 

"Jesus' Question"

To those disciples who were struggling, unable to catch fish and only enduring hardships, Jesus said to cast the net on the right side of the boat. When Peter heard this and recognized that it was Jesus, he immediately put on his outer garment and jumped into the water to go to Jesus. That's how much Peter loved Jesus. And they had breakfast together. There was a fire and it was dawn. This scene was staged to resemble the situation where Peter denied Jesus in front of the courtyard fire of the high priest a few days earlier. After finishing the meal, Jesus asked Peter a question. "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" This question needs to be examined in two aspects. First, it's a comparative question, asking if Peter loves Jesus more than the others. Second, it carries the meaning of whether that love is a love towards God. Peter answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." While the English and Korean translations of Jesus' question and Peter's answer use the word "love" in the same way, in the original Greek text, Jesus' question is expressed with the verb "agapeo," while Peter's answer is with the verb "phileo." This indicates that there's a difference in the level of love Jesus asked about and the love Peter expressed. In essence, Jesus asked if Peter loves Him as God, but Peter replied, "Don't you know that I care for you as a friend?" He couldn't dare to claim to love Jesus in a higher degree. However, he wanted to express his love for Jesus.

Shortly after, Jesus asked Peter again, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" What's different from the first question? In the first question, the expression "more than these" was included, but it's omitted in the second. It signifies a downgrade from asking if Peter loves Jesus more than others to simply asking if Peter loves Jesus. Still, Peter gave the same answer as the first question. Here, Jesus used the word "agapeo" again, and Peter still used "phileo."

After a while, Jesus asked Peter again, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" What we need to pay attention to here is that while Jesus used the word "agapeo" in the first two questions and Peter used "phileo," in the third question, Jesus used "phileo" just like Peter. Jesus lowered the level of His love, asking if Peter could love Him even at a lower level. This made Peter anxious. Jesus didn't do this to rebuke Peter's lower level of love or to show how insignificant he was. Then why did Jesus ask in this manner?

We can understand the reason from Jesus' response after Peter's answers. Jesus instructed him, "Feed my lambs," "Take care of my sheep," and "Feed my sheep." It's an expression of entrusting the duty of tending to Jesus' flock to Peter. Why did Jesus entrust the care of His flock to Peter, who confessed to a diminishing level of love? To love Jesus' flock, one must first love Jesus. Those who don't love Jesus can never love His flock. Our love for each other stems from our love for Jesus. If we don't love Jesus, we can never love our brothers and sisters. Our love for Jesus prevents us from being selfish, arrogant, or insensitive.

Jesus knew this well, and He asked Peter in this manner to restore him from despair. "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Jesus desires a love from Peter that fervently loves Him in a higher, profound way, but even if that's not the case, as long as Peter loves Jesus, He tells Peter that he's qualified to tend to His flock. That's why we see pastors and ministers starting their ministry with hearts full of love for Jesus.

Not long ago, I had a phone conversation with a fellow believer from my former church, asking about the names and current situations of friends we used to share our faith with. It was an expression of truly loving those friends. They were not well-off in the world, some were orphans, some had lost their parents, some were socially marginalized, or suffered in troubled family environments. But in our community, we truly loved and cared for each other. The reason? There was only one: I met Jesus and loved Him.

While preparing this message, I pondered this thought: Do I love the members of our church? Yes, I do. The problem is, can I love them like Jesus does? When asked if I can love like Jesus, I have no confidence. To love like Jesus, I must be willing to die for you. But I don't think I can do that. I might not even be able to sacrifice my arm. Then I can think, "Does that mean I don't love our church members?" But in reality, I do love them. I can't fully express and practice the ideal love of Jesus. However, that doesn't mean I don't love our church members.

So why did Jesus ask Peter if he loved Him in a profound way and then gradually lower the level of that love? The moment I could understand this was when I realized: Yes, you! Can you truly sacrifice your life to love the person next to you? We can't love at that level. But we do love our brothers and sisters. Love isn't about quantity, and it's not just a word found in dictionaries. Love is life. It's alive. So, even if we start with a lower level of love, as we continue to love, that love will grow, eventually maturing into a love that's willing to be crucified, even upside down, for the sake of others. And the practice of that love starts with loving Jesus' flock.

Conclusion:

Let's love Jesus. From today's message, we can draw this conclusion: We must love Jesus. In fact, our level of love for Jesus isn't very high. But what's important is that we love Jesus. How many times have we betrayed, ignored, and lived according to our desires while calling Jesus Lord? But still, we must love Jesus. And how can we love Jesus? It's by loving our brothers and sisters in the way Jesus loved.

In many churches, I often see people ignoring, despising, and gossiping about each other. What's lacking in those people? Of course, there may be personal shortcomings, but we need to check if there's the grace and love of Jesus in them."