It can be easy to fall into the trap of doing things for Jesus but forgetting to love Him in the process. Let us not forget the simplicity of loving Jesus.
During prayer, God reminded me that He just wants our love — beyond reading the Bible, obeying God, worshipping Him, and all else that He asks us to do, He is after our love and devotion.
It can be easy to get in the mode of, “I have to spend time with Jesus”, or “I have to worship Him”, etc. But what if our “I have to” turned into “I want to”?
God’s greatest commandment is that we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30-31).
We can love Jesus rightly as we take time every day to receive His love first. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
Our relationship with Jesus is a marriage. We are called the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7-9, Revelation 21:2). In my own marriage, when life gets busy, I can easily forget to enjoy my husband in the midst of all the tasks that have to be done. The same thing can happen in our relationship with Jesus. May we never lose the joy of simply loving Jesus.
Receiving the love of Jesus
How do we receive the love of Jesus? By simply looking to Jesus and what He did for you on the cross. There is no greater way for Jesus to prove His love for us than His death on the cross. Yes, Jesus can bless us here on earth, but nothing will ever compare to the sacrificial love He showed us by coming as a man (though He was God), and dying a painful death on the cross for our sins.
Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Invite the Holy Spirit to give you a revelation of the sufferings of Jesus and His deep love for you. As we meditate and remember the love of Jesus and how patient, kind, and loving He is toward us, we become empowered to love Jesus back.
We don’t deserve to be God’s children and have eternal life because we were all born into sin, but God still chose to make a way for us to be His by sending Jesus to die for us so that we might be made right with God when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Ephesians 1:5-7 says, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.”
Take time every day to meditate on God’s love for you. Find scriptures to memorize so that you can be rooted in the love of Jesus.
As we meditate on God’s Word and are rooted in Christ, we will grow our love for the Word of God, who is Jesus Himself. Psalm 119:97 says, “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.”
As you set your gaze on the Word of God, you are setting your gaze on Jesus Himself, who is the Word made into flesh (John 1:14).
Living out our love for Jesus
Do you live every day convinced that God loves you? The enemy wants us to doubt God’s love, but let us not forget how greatly God loves us that He chose to give His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for us that we may be right with God and have eternal life (John 3:16).
The greatest gift that we could ever have is salvation in Jesus. God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to come as a man, though He was in glory with God, to die for us so that we could be set free from sin and be made right with God now and for eternity.
1 John 3:1 says, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are…”
God loves you so much.
Take time to ponder the mercy and kindness God has shown you. God’s love will always be enough to fill you. Don’t allow your fears or circumstances to make you doubt that God loves you. Set your heart on the love of Jesus so that you can love Him back rightly.
Life is about loving Jesus. Jesus wants our love. Yes, we are called to serve Him, but to serve out of our love for Him. So remember, the simplicity of loving Jesus every day.
Prayer: Jesus, help me to always remember the gift of salvation and the depth of Your love for me. When distractions pull me away, remind me that You are my greatest treasure. Thank You for choosing me, loving me, and calling me Your own. May my heart be fully devoted to You.
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