Darlene Rose

“Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”

Jesus asked this question of Peter although He knew the answer.  I believe He may have chosen to call him Simon here because that was his birth name; he was asking the man, the human being, the one with a history and the one born to Jonah.  He was speaking to the humanity in Peter, putting him in touch with the heart that steps out of duty and responsibility for a moment, to ask “Do you love Me?”

Simon Peter then replied “Yes Lord, you know I do.”  In fact, when Jesus asked him a third time, Simon said “You know all things.”

Jesus knew the answer so why would He ask?   To touch the heart.

Yesterday I had this dialogue with the Lord in my car on the way to work, although it was slightly different. I was impressed that He wanted me to ask HIM if He loved me.  I knew He did but I also knew He wanted me to ask.

“Lord do You love me?”  I asked Him.

Then, I answered for Him.   “I know you do. Why am I asking this?”  He said “Ask again.”

Okay. “Lord do You love me?”

Something in my throat tightened a little.  I felt a little emotion, a little watery eye.

I said “Lord I know You love me”

“Ask again.”

“Lord do You love me?”

Then the floodgates opened.

I started asking more.

“Lord who am I?”
“For what purpose did You create me?”
“Remind me of the dreams you put in my heart”
“Remind me of the nickname You call me”
“Why do you call me that?”
“What is my calling?”
“How does what I do reflect back on who I am created to be?”

And the questions went on.  If I could give just one word that described the answers I received, it would be Wholeness.

Without my orchestration, there is a thread woven throughout my entire life called Wholeness.   Everything I dream of, everything I do is about wholeness.

Restoration of the physical body to wholeness.
Restoration of the soul from broken to whole.
Restoration of family to wholeness.
Restoration of marriages from broken to whole.
I’m a “WholeISTIC” Health Practitioner who believes WHOLE foods are best.
I teach that spirit, soul, body are inseparable – they are whole.
My former ministry was “the whole.e.ness clinic”.
My life verse is Psalm 133 – the commanded blessing is about unity or wholeness in the body of believers.

I looked up the word “Whole” in scripture.  The Hebrew is Rapha – which also means “to heal”.   Yahweh Rapha means “the Lord Who Heals”

His Signature is on my life.  Yahweh Rapha signed His name on my life.

“Do you love me?”   Jesus wanted me to ask Him this yesterday so I could step out of all my duties and responsibilities and be reminded of not just His affection for me, but His constant care for me, and that He had been fashioning my heart from a child, and in everything He did, brought me through.  This is more than affection.  And everything I have ever done is so much more than a bunch of random things.

I have His signature.  Though I saw all these things, I did not quite see His signature on everything I did until He wanted me to ask Him “Do you love me?”

Maybe you need to ask Him some questions you already know the answer to.   Or thought you did.