DO YOU LOVE JESUS!?

 DO YOU LOVE JESUS?

    Surfing Facebook I came across a post from a sister in Christ, one of my Facebook "friends", that had a picture, an artist representation, of Jesus Christ with his arms open. Under him was a question Do You Love Me? In the comments many people had put yes and liked the post. I was ready to hit like and post YES; when the Lord stopped me with a question, have you really considered the question? For most Christians our fist reflex is to say yes I love Jesus. Some would even add I love the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! They would then just move on the next page or post. The truth is that this question is very important. We should ask what does it mean to love Jesus before we say YES!  

    When many people say they love Jesus they mean they believe in him, Some as a great teacher , revolutionary and some as Savior. In our society we use the word love for many things. We may say we love pizza, a sports team, a movie, a book or a person. When we use that word it has different meaning depending on the object. Most people love their children more than even the best tasting cheesecake for example. When Jesus ask do we love him? He has a definition of love outlined in scripture. 

   First, Jesus actually did ask the question of Peter 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 replied to him: “Yes, Lord, you know I have affection for you.” He said to him: “Feed my lambs.” With his closes friends and followers; Jesus used the Greek word "agapas", which refers to unconditional God like love. Not just I love pizza or fast cars but die on the cross for you a sinner love! Think now before you say yes! Do you love Jesus that much!? Agape is the noun and agapao the verb. Strong's concordance states " With the believer, 25 /agapáō ("to love") means actively doing what the Lord prefers, with Him (by His power and direction). True 25 /agapáō ("loving") is always defined by God – a "discriminating affection which involves choice and selection". 1 Jn 4:8,16,17 for example convey how loving ("preferring," 25 /agapáō) is Christ living His life through the believer." 2.https://biblehub.com/greek/25.htm.  26 agápē – properly, love which centers in moral preference. So too in secular ancient Greek, 26 (agápē) focuses on preference; likewise the verb form (25 /agapáō) in antiquity meant "to prefer" (TDNT, 7). In the NT, 26 (agápē) typically refers to divine love (= what God prefers).2.https://biblehub.com/greek/26.htm. 

   The first point, then is that it is not enough to speak about LOVE it is about action. We are to have agape, the noun but live agapáō, the verb.

   Jesus in John 14:15 explains what it means to love him. He says “If you love Me, keep My commandments. So you claim to love me ,Jesus says, thank you but you have to actually follow my teaching and that includes all inspired words of the bible. More specifically Jesus actually says what the commandments are; in the Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”  these 2 embody the whole Ten Commandments the first five deal with loving and honoring God. The last five, loving neighbor. Paul says in Galatians 5:14 "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Second point is that we have to keep his commands to LOVE him. 

  The Third point is that God want us to love him more than the things in the world. I say more because we are to loves other as we love ourselves. We also to love fellow believers so the meaning is not that cannot love people or the thing God has created. It is about degrees. Love God more than all the things. God has 1 john 2: "15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world."

  Millions say they LOVE children yet abuse them kids, betray their spouses they claim to love with adultery. They commit acts that show thier word love is very different; than how God uses the word. God want Agape, full time and obedient love. God's love is not part time and he wants us to love like he does! The Bible says in Philippians 2:5 " Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" This is not always possible because we fail and sin, Paul admits the struggle in Romans 7 he says  "21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." KJV  

  We cannot judge whether a person loves Jesus based on one act or even a few because as Paul says we all struggle with the flesh and our sinful nature. We should examine our own action and love. When they fall short; we are to keep trying as 1 john 1: 9 says "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. the fourth point is God's type of love is something we have as a goal, if and when we fail, we can ask forgiveness and try again. 

  God's Love is AGAPE. First, God does want to know if you love him and others. Second, He wants us to love him and others with his type of love. That means our words of love must be matched with actions. Actions that reflex Jesus commands from Mark 12:30-31. James made this point in James 2 "14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[a] is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. ESV Third we must love him more than the things in the world. forth, we try to love as God wants and commands; but since we are sinners we will fail, but we can ask forgiveness and try again.  

1. Jesus ask do you love me and wants action.

2. Loving him mean keeping his commands.

3. love him more than the thing in the world. 

4. We not perfect and will fail but we ask forgiveness and keep loving.

 So NOW ask yourself do you LOVE Jesus? 

 by SSligh blog creator/moderator