To be affirmed is a human need. We are created to get and to give love. Today’s interaction between Jesus and Peter connects to many people who long for that second chance. Three times, Jesus asks Peter: “Do you love me?” Three times, Peter replies that he does. One of the lessons on love is hidden in this interaction. Jesus assures us that God’s love is always both unmerited and unconditional; nothing we do can ever make God love us, just as nothing we do can ever stop God from loving us. God loves just as God does everything else – perfectly. The challenge for many is to accept the reality that God loved Judas as much as he did Peter. The difference is not in how God loves them but in how they, in turn, love God. Judas and Peter’s responses to the actions against the Lord are very different. How we respond to God’s love either draws us closer to him or drives us away from him. Our actions, or lack thereof, separate us from him because his perfect love can never be driven away. God will always love us.