It is such an encouraging breath of fresh air to have a conversation with those who are down to Earth and humble. Jack Hollis is one of these men and his life is a wonderful, joyful testimony of the faithfulness of the Lord. Greg Lancaster was recently honored to be able to sit down with Jack and take the time to talk about the importance of Phileo love and loving others in our lives. The relationship with David and Jonathan was so close, that the Bible describes in 1 Samuel 18:3, “Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.” As Jack points out, many people share their own opinions and confuse their relationship saying it was a homosexual relationship. “Ya’ll just don’t understand love. That’s the thing”. Jack is also reminded of the moment when Jesus restores Peter into ministry when He asked Peter three times if he loved Him. In John 21, the Bible recounts how Jesus had cooked some fish for His disciples, or as Jack likes to describe it “brim and hushpuppies”.
Specifically in John 21:15, When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Jesus more than the fish, as fishing was the life that Peter used to live. Fishing was his old life, before Jesus called him to be his disciple. Jesus asked Peter if he loved him more than the fish three different times. As Jack shares, “that was agape love. The [Peter] said yes. Then [Jesus] asked him a second time. ‘Do you agape Me more than you do this?’”. As Jack continues, the third time Jesus asks Peter, that is when He gets down to the crux of the matter. “The third time, the one that really got em’, you know, broke him down, was when He said ‘do you phileo Me?’” When we understand the reality of phileo love, we understand the reality of what Jesus was asking Peter. “And that’s fellowship love. That’s the kind of love that you want to be with them.” This is what Jesus was asking Peter, and it’s so important that we look at Scripture from Jesus’ perspective and not the world’s perspective. If we look at the Word of God from the world’s perspective, we will get it wrong every time. When Christ gets a hold of our lives and our hearts, we can’t help but to be transformed and begin growing to love others the way that Christ loved us, selflessly. Jack has been so powerfully impacted by the love of the Lord that he can’t even bring himself to harm the life of a deer, as he used to be an avid hunter, and when he sees a turtle in the middle of the road, he will stop traffic to make sure it gets across safely.