最近，我回忆起丈夫向我求婚的那天。我们都是学生，来自不同的背景。我们讨论了一些问题，比如“什么是爱？”“我们如何知道我们是否相爱？”以及“如果我们决定将这段关系永久化，会是什么样子？”对我来说，长期的信仰背景和牢固的婚姻典范让我很容易说出我爱他。对他来说，仅仅几年的信仰经历和不太稳固的家庭关系让他更难相信长期的承诺。但我们知道，我们有信仰，可以选择尝试。44年来，我们为彼此奉献了最好的自己。
耶稣向彼得提出的问题关乎深刻的承诺。那天，当彼得站在岸边面对耶稣时，他的心情可能很复杂。彼得曾三次不认耶稣（约 18:17，25-27），然而在他面前的是战胜了死亡的耶稣。现在耶稣问了一个艰难的问题：“你爱我吗？”彼得当然爱祂，但耶稣说的不是一个简单的关系。祂在问彼得是否已经准备好，不惜一切代价，把关乎祂的好消息带给未曾听过的人。你会如何回答耶稣的问题呢？
主啊，感谢你爱我们。今天，请帮助我们尽心、尽性、尽意、尽力地爱你，并在各处分享关于你的好消息。阿们。
约翰福音 21:15-17
15他们吃完了早饭，耶稣对西门彼得说：“约翰的儿子西门，你爱我比这些更深吗？”彼得说：“主啊，是的，你知道我爱你。”耶稣对他说：“你喂养我的小羊。”
16耶稣第二次又对他说：“约翰的儿子西门，你爱我吗？”彼得说：“主啊，是的，你知道我爱你。”耶稣说：“你牧养我的羊。”
17第三次对他说：“约翰的儿子西门，你爱我吗？”彼得因为耶稣第三次对他说“你爱我吗”，就忧愁，对耶稣说：“主啊，你是无所不知的，你知道我爱你。”耶稣说：“你喂养我的羊。
"Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, 'Do you love me?' He said, 'Lord . . . you know that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Feed my sheep.'" - John 21:17
Recently I recalled the day my husband asked me to marry him. We were both students and had come from different backgrounds. We talked about questions like "What is love?" and "How do we know if we're in love?" and "What would it look like if we decided to make this relationship permanent?" For me, coming from a long background of faith and solid examples of strong marriage made it easy for me to say that I loved him. For him, coming from a few years of faith and not so solid relationships made it harder to trust a longtime commitment. But we knew we had faith and a choice to try. And for over 44 years we have offered each other the best of ourselves.
Jesus' question to Peter was about deep commitment. And Peter was probably feeling a mix of emotions as he stood on the beach facing Jesus that day. Peter had denied Jesus three times (John 18:17, 25-27), and yet there in front of him was the one who had defeated death. And now Jesus was asking the hard question: "Do you love me?" Of course Peter loved him, but Jesus wasn't asking for a simple relationship. He was asking Peter if he was ready, no matter what the cost, to bring the good news about him to people who hadn't heard it.
What is your answer to Jesus' question?
Lord, thank you for loving us. Help us today to love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to share the good news about you everywhere. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
