MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST- MARCH 1, 2010 (DEVOTIONAL)

OSWALD CHAMBERS

(Interjections from Mer)


The Piercing Question
Do you love Me? —John 21:17

Peter’s response to this piercing question ("DO YOU LOVE ME?") is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" ( Matthew 26:35 ; also see Matthew 26:33-34 ).

Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. (eye-opening awareness of our need for Him to show us our hearts: 139:23-24)

Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love.

It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, "Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God" ( Luke 12:8 ).

Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. (So true)

But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level.

("Hurt"- meaning seeing our limits without God- the state of our natural selves- that part that needs refined- the part of us that acts independently of God and yet God promises to be the author and perfector of our faith. Again, Psalm 139:23-24..." Search me, O God, and know my heart; try/test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out any hurtful way in me, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." As well as Mark 9:24, "Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief.")

"For the Word of God is living and powerful . . . , piercing even to the division of soul and spirit . . ."— to the point that no deception can remain ( Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question ("Do you love Me?"), it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense.--It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.

("When asking Jesus to lead you and be in your heart, you are asking to be adopted by Him into His family. God/Jesus promise to never leave you nor forsake you. They promise no condemation in Christ but grace and mercy- new every morning. God desires ALL to come to the saving knowledge of the truth... ALL. In Christ, we are chosen, Holy, and DEARLY loved...Colossians 3:12).