"SIMON, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" ^{See John 21:15-17.} After his resurrection Christ Jesus asked this question three times of the disciple Peter. Three times, the Bible tells us, Jesus required Peter to affirm his love and to follow a special command to feed his lambs and sheep. The third time Peter protested, exclaiming that Jesus must know of his devoted love for him.

What did the question, so persistently pressed, mean? It certainly gave Peter joyful redemption for the recognition and allegiance he had thrice denied to Jesus at the time of the crucifixion. The question also expresses Jesus' unconditional, sustaining love for his disciples—as well as his recognition of Peter's need. Peter needed to be healed of any debilitating remorse at having denied his beloved Master. He needed to be valued, directed, and cherished for the mission ahead of him.

Christ Jesus' questioning secured Peter in his mission, which he upheld faithfully, loyally, and with deep spiritual insight. There can be no doubt that Peter's life continued to bear witness to his affirmation that he did love Jesus. He lived and proved his love for Christ, the eternal message of God's healing and saving power, in his selfless service to God and man. Peter healed the sick, raised the dead, and learned to behold Jew and Gentile alike (a viewpoint entirely at odds with the Judaic teachings of the time). He walked free from prison chains. He shared with Paul in the teaching and healing work undertaken by the early Christians after the resurrection. His steadfast trust, courage, and example inspire Christians today.

Is the same question asked of Peter applicable to us today? If so, what kind of love is required of us?

To the extent that we follow Jesus' example—loving, healing, helping our fellowman—we are today's disciples. Mrs. Eddy tells us something of what this discipleship means in Science and Health, where she writes: "It is possible,—yea, it is the duty and privilege of every child, man, and woman,—to follow in some degree the example of the Master by the demonstration of Truth and Life, of health and holiness. Christians claim to be his followers, but do they follow him in the way that he commanded? Hear these imperative commands: 'Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect!' 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature!' 'Heal the sick!'" ^{Science and Health, p. 37.}

So the question can be asked of us all. And we should consider our answer in terms of how much we love our fellowman.

The significance of the word love is boundless. Love cannot exist on man-made terms alone. It grows and strengthens through the understanding that God is Love. Indeed those three words—God is Love—reveal the basis for all the loving, caring, serving, cherishing, and understanding we can offer our loved ones, our community, and the world. When we recognize that God is Love, we begin to see that real love is unselfed, tender, compassionate, loyal, and completely trusting. Genuine love offers wholehearted release from personal manipulation of another's affairs for one's own gain. Spiritually based love remains faithfully supportive through difficult times; it gives a peaceful closeness to us when we're together with—and apart from—those we love. This love cannot really be lost, painful, pressured, or conditional. We come to see that we love all because we reflect the one Love, God, which is All. Love is not simply a personal prerogative to give, sustain, or outline. We love as Love loves. We love because Love loves. We are, as a hymn puts it so well, "the loved of Love." ^{Christian Science Hymnal, No. 232.}

The specific question asked of Peter was "lovest thou me?" How important for us, today's disciples, to think carefully about, and answer honestly, the same question. Is the Christ-idea, which Jesus represented, our first love? Is it really so important to put Christ first when the demands on our loving seem so great?

Our world is crying out for love. People in pain, imprisoned, sick, lost, lonely, and afraid need to feel and be loved. We may ask how loving a spiritual idea can possibly be more tangible, more important, more relevant, than the practical caring for, giving to, feeding and touching those who are precious to us. It is, but this answer comes only as we understand that it is the one source of love, God, that blesses us with all the intuition, initiative, per ception, strength, and understanding we need to really love. When they are spiritually based, the practical steps we take in loving others—in helping and serving them—are all the more effective.

The more we love and trust the all-loving God, the more we are able to love God's beloved child, man, and trust him to be the spiritual idea of eternal Love. We come to know that, whatever the human circumstances, man is inseparable from God, Father-Mother Love. We grow closer to, and more perceptively aware of, those we care about. Our spiritual reflecting of Love frees us from anguished separation, oppressive responsibility, inadequacy, and unfulfilled desire. We become filled with the fruits of true love—loveliness, peace, trust, and contentment.

The question "lovest thou me?" may be initially answered by us in little ways that enable us to grow in consecrated devotion. And each time we love the spiritual idea more than the material assertion, each time we trust the spiritual solution more than the material problem, each time we sacrifice human planning for spiritual peace, we are answering "yes." Then we are feeding the lambs and sheep—those who are close to us and those we touch only through community and global news.

God is infinite Love. He blesses us all with the ability to love one another. This blessing in turn gives us increasing peace and fulfillment. How grateful we can be for this, and for all those who show us by example what it means to love and be loved.

What doth the Lord thy God require of thee,
but to fear the Lord thy God,
to walk in all his ways,
and to love him,
and to serve the Lord thy God
with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
to keep the commandments of the Lord,
and his statutes,
which I command thee this day for thy good?

Deuteronomy 10:12, 13