Do you love me?

In John's gospel, chapter 21, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Jesus. Jesus is asking if Peter really loves him. Peter replies that Jesus is important in his life, he likes hanging around with Jesus, they are good buddies, and such. But Peter never really says that he loves Jesus.

The good news is that you don't have to really love Jesus for Jesus to love you and even ask you to do something. This is helpful to me because sometimes I wonder if I really love God. Like Peter, God is important in my life and I want things from God and I like being around God, but do I really love God, deeply? I seem to ignore God when I either want to do my own thing, or else feel I don't need God for something I can do myself.

When I really love someone, I think of that person a lot. This love is the center of my life. I must admit I cannot say that about my relationship with God. It must be a growth process. I have the grace to love God, but a bunch of bad habits too. Life is conflict but God never gives up on me. If the first pope did not really love Jesus all that much, I guess I can live with my imperfections, and hope.