“Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.”

                                                  -2 Chronicles 25:1, 2

We are told in Ephesians 2:10 that it is God’s will for all of His children to follow after good works. We are saved by grace through faith apart from our works (v. 8), but are instructed to express our gratitude for that salvation through service to both God and others. Despite this truth, today’s verse is a sobering reminder that it is very possible for a person to do all the right things for all the wrong reasons.

“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?...”

                                                     -John 21:15

I believe that, in order to fully comprehend the significance of what Jesus is saying here, we must first look at Peter’s background: this is the same Simon Peter who walked on water with the Lord during a raging storm (Matthew 14:29). This is the same Peter who zealously cut off the right ear of the High Priest’s servant for trying to take Jesus captive (John 18:10). He was the one who spoke up and expressed His resolve to stay with God even when everybody else was walking away (John 6:68), and couldn’t understand why the Son of God should wash his calloused and dirty feet (John 13:6). Of course he made his fair share of mistakes along the way but, at least most of the time, was the one everybody else needed to be more like. Yet in spite out his outward devotion, Christ presented the question, “Do you really love Me?” He didn’t ask whether he’d been faithful to go through the motions of Christianity, but instead wanted to know whether or not it was truly in his heart. When it comes down to it, a filthy heart will eventually corrupt our actions anyway (Luke 6:45), so it’s best to make sure we have everything right on the inside before concerning ourselves with the rest.

Perhaps you, like Peter, seem to be on par with everybody else when it comes to the external aspect of your faith. You raise your hands during church, never miss a youth group meeting, and read Christian devotionals on the internet during your spare time. And yet despite the fact that you’re doing everything you know you should be doing on the outside, it still feels like something’s missing in your life and you wonder what it is. Could it be that the Lord is asking you the very same question He asked Peter?