This incident between Jesus and Peter occurred right before Jesus ascended to Heaven to sit down at the right hand of God the Father. This was Jesus' last recorded dialogue with Peter who would later become a leader of the Early Church.
There is a strong message contained in Jesus' dialogue with Peter. Each one of us can benefit from asking ourselves the same question that Jesus asked Peter: "...lovest thou me more than these?"
What did Jesus mean when He said "more than these"? He could have meant, "Peter, do you love Me more than you love your friends, your family, or the other disciples?" Or Jesus could have meant, "Do you love Me more than you love these boats, these fishing nets, and this profession and lifestyle?"
You see, Peter had gone back to fishing for fish rather than for men. He and the other disciples had been out all night fishing, and they hadn't caught anything. So Jesus could have meant, "Do you love Me enough to give up all this so you can follow Me and preach the gospel?"
"Lovest thou Me?" That's a very searching question, friend. I want to ask you the same question. Do you love Jesus? I'm sure you would immediately answer, "Oh, yes, of course I love Jesus!"
But when you ask yourself that question, then ask yourself, "What are the 'more than these' in my life?" The secret of service to the Lord Jesus Christ lies in the answer to the question, "Do you love Jesus more than anything else in the world?"
No matter how much you know, how much you do, how much you talk, or how much you work to show that you have a great belief in God - if you don't love Jesus with all your heart, all your works don't count for a thing.
I believe if we really love Jesus, we will follow Him with all of our heart. If we really love Jesus, we will want to be like Him. And if we want to be like Him, that will change the way we think, speak, and act. It will change what we do and where we go.
If we love Jesus, then we must remember that Jesus is the One who told us, "Follow Me." We can't follow our own opinions, plans, and desires and still faithfully follow Jesus.
It's our responsibility as believers to follow Jesus wherever He may lead us. If we love Jesus, we will say to Him, "Jesus, I'll go wherever You want me to go. I'll say whatever You want me to say. And I'll do whatever You want me to do."
If Jesus Christ Himself looked you in the eyes and asked you, "Lovest thou Me more than these?" what would be your answer? Do you love Jesus more than anything else in the world? Jesus gave His life because of His great love for you. Can you do any less than love Him "more than these"?
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications