It was August of 1973, and I was sitting on the back of my car in the driveway of 637 Atwood Avenue in Rockford, Illinois. Next to me was a young lady that I had been dating for three years. Her dad was putting the barbeque grill away in the backyard after a cook-out. We were talking about a variety of things when out of the clear blue came a question I was definitely unprepared to answer. “John, do you love me?”she asked inquisitively.

While we had been dating for three years, the “love” word had not yet been spoken. Did I love her? I was not sure. I knew I loved football. I was going back to college the next day for the start of two-a-day practices for my senior season. Oh, I loved football alright, but did I love her? I had no idea! After hesitating at the question, which is never a good sign, I gulped and said, “I don’t know.” While that was not the answer she was looking for, at least I was honest.

We often say that we love God. We use the word in our prayers, and we sing songs like “My Jesus I Love Thee” or “Oh, How I Love Jesus.” But what does it mean to love God? The Apostle Peter was very confident that he loved the Lord. In John chapter twenty-one, when asked if he loved Jesus, Peter vehemently stated, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.” Knowing Peter’s heart, the Lord was not satisfied with his routine answer. Apparently there was something missing in the apostle’s love. A careful look at the passage reveals that there are four qualities to the love that God is looking for from us. Read more »