I promised that I would come back and you can count on it. What is your attitude towards my return? Are you eager for me to appear? There is Biblical support and encouragement for loving my appearing. But Paul was conflicted on this issue. He had a desire to depart and be with me, but realized that other people were depending on him to do important work here on earth. He decided that it was better for him to remain for this reason and in so doing was following my example. Do you feel the same tension within yourself?

Are you apprehensive about tests? Would you like to take a test you could not fail? Peter denied me three times and although you could argue that this was failure, I gave him a chance to redeem himself by doing it over. So you could view this as an opportunity to repeat rather than a failure. Wouldn’t you prefer to pass every test the first time? Then you could move on to other things with a sense of accomplishment, and not have to go through the cycle again. Have you been successful at this? What I did for Peter I will do for you. I will give you more opportunities to pass the test.

What character traits would you expect of a loving God? What about those who follow him? Wouldn’t they be loving also? This is a reasonable expectation for those who claim to be transformed into his image and likeness. Would this love extend only to those who share the same beliefs? Believers who claim to follow a God who loves everyone should demonstrate this same love. What reward would they have if they only loved their friends? Doesn’t everyone do that? But when they love those who hate them it demonstrates a love beyond ordinary love; a love that is transcendent.

Are you a student? Are you a teacher? There is an obvious fit between these two, but some people cease to be students and some never progress to being teachers. Yet you can be both your entire life and this is something to strive for. Do you see every person you meet as someone to learn from? This takes an attitude of humility to realize that even the most dull and ignorant people you meet know something that you don’t know, and that is worthwhile to know. I put this knowledge in them for a reason, and made it available to you through them.