Simon, son of Jonas, Lovest Thou Me?

After His resurrection, The Lord asked Peter (Simon) three times "Lovest thou me?"; each time Peter responded in the affirmative to which The Lord responded by telling Peter to feed His Lambs and His sheep. In his third response, Peter said "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." I believe the Lord knew the depth of Peter's love for the Master and by asking Peter this question three times, He may have been telling Peter that his Love for the Lord should motivate his ministry to His people; it would only be his Love of the Lord that would be able to sustain him in the afflictions he would suffer. How is Love of the Lord characterized or demonstrated? In willingly meeting the needs (tending, superintending) of God's flock (that part of His flock over which you've been given stewardship), living a life consistent with the light God has given you, being humble, being subject one to another (speaking of the unified body of Christ, or the church). I used 1 Peter 5:2-6 to derive the thoughts about what it means to Love the Lord.