The risen Jesus comes to Peter and asks a simple yet profound question:
“Do you love me?”
This question is not meant to reopen the past, but to open the future.
Peter had already concluded that his life was over. In his own mind, he was finished. So, he returned to the place of his failure, going back to his old life. Yet Jesus comes all the way to that very place and calls him again.
This scene is not merely about Peter’s personal restoration. It is also a question Jesus is asking our generation today.
We live in a time when we say, “We love Jesus,” yet we are often drawn to love other things more. Loving one’s country is not wrong. Holding political convictions is not wrong. Loving the church is certainly not wrong. The problem arises when these things take precedence over Jesus.
History has already shown us how dangerous this can be. During Nazi Germany, many churches loved their nation more than the Kingdom of God. As a result, the church became a tool that justified injustice and unrighteous power. It is easy for us today to criticize that period. But a more pressing question remains: What do we love more now?
There is nothing inherently wrong with the slogan “Make America Great Again.” However, when such ideas become intertwined with faith in a way that allows the nation to replace the Kingdom of God, faith becomes distorted. When political leaders are elevated to an absolute position, they become idols.
In our time, denying Jesus does not usually appear as it did with Peter—openly saying, “I do not know Him.” Instead, it appears in quieter and more subtle ways. When we remain silent in the face of injustice, when we ignore the suffering of the vulnerable, when we turn away from the tears of immigrants and minorities, we are, in effect, denying Jesus. We may continue to use the language of faith, but if the direction of our lives points elsewhere, we are in a deeply dangerous place.
Today, Jesus asks us the same question:
“Do you love me?”
Before this question, we must stand honestly and respond:
“Lord, I am lacking, but I do love You.”
Now is the time for us to love Jesus again.