much, and profess much, and taljj much, and work much, and give much, and go through much, and make much show in our religion, and yet be dead before God, from want of love, and at last go down to the pit. Do we love Christ ? That is the great question. Without this there- is no vitality about our Christianity. We are no better than painted wax figures, lifeless stuffed beasts in a museum, sounding brass and tinkling cym- bals. There is no life where there is no love.
Let us take heed that there is some feeling in our religion. Knowledge, orthodoxy, correct views, regu- lar use of forms, a respectable moral life, — all these do not make up a true Christian. There must be some per- sonal feeling towards Christ. Feeling alone, no doubt, is a poor useless thing, and may be here to-day and gone to-morrow. But the entire absence of feeling is a very bad symptom, and speaks ill for the state of a man's soul. The men and women to whom St. Paul wrote his Epistles had feelings, and were not ashamed of them. There was One in heaven whom they loved, and that One was Jesus the Son of God. Let us strive to be like them, and to have some real feeling in our Christianity, if we hope to share their reward.
We should notice, secondly, in these verses, Peter's ansicer to Chrisfs question. Three times we find the / Apostle saying, "Thou knowest that I love Thee." Once we are told that he said, " Thou knowest all things." Once we have the touching remark made, that he was " grieved to be asked the third time." We need not doubt that our Lord, like a skilful physician, stirred up this grief intentionally. He intended to prick the Apostle's conscience, and to teach him a sol- emn lesson. If it was grievous to the disciple to be questioned, how much more grievous must it have been to the Master to be denied I