One of the most controversial questions within our cultures has been and remains, “What is love?”. Most answers include an expression of a feeling which is defined in all types of manners and under many conditions. I know we’ve all heard or said, “If they love you, they will…”. And if that action isn’t performed, the conclusion is made that they do not love you. But love isn’t a fleeting emotion based on conditions so I am not referring to the world’s definition of love. I am referring to the unconditional love which we, as followers of Christ, should be striving to exude via the possession and working of Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 13: 4-8 describes characteristics of love, and Galatians 5:22 informs us that love is a portion of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. So you can conclude that if a believer possesses Holy Spirit, you will see an outward manifestation of love which not only matches the description in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 but also includes obedience to Jesus, faith in Jesus, faith in Jesus’ power, worship, forgiveness, serving others, and consistent fellowship with His people to name a few. Let’s Talk!
I am currently reading the gospel of John, and one of the chapters I read this week was chapter 14. Central topics of that chapter includes trusting in God, Jesus being the way to God, what believers can do through Jesus, LOVE, the Holy Spirit, the purpose of the Holy Spirit, and believing in Jesus. As I read the chapter, love was mentioned a few times beginning in verse 15 which reads, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”. As I continued to read, I noticed a theme. Verse 21 reads, “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him”. And verse 23 reads, “Jesus answered, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” The mention of loving Jesus equating to keeping His commandments is mentioned three times within that one chapter. When you love Jesus, there are promises attached to you according to the scriptures above. If you love Jesus, you will: be loved by God, be loved by Jesus, have Jesus revealed to you, and be a home for God and Jesus. I do not know about you, but the thought that there are promises attached to me loving Jesus is significant to me! And if you haven’t caught on by now, allow me to catch you up. Loving Jesus is shown through obeying Him. And simply put, some of us are not experiencing the promises of Jesus because we are not being obedient to Him! And that in itself can preach! We make decisions all day and every day. Obedience is a choice, and some of us believers are simply choosing to be disobedient. This shows that we truly do not love Jesus according to the scriptures. God’s Words are not simply recommendations, but they are commandments. They are the roadmap for believers. They are alive, applicable to today, and expected to be followed. We are not called to be perfect, but we are called to love Jesus (be obedient to Him).
So today, I encourage you to perform a check on your love tank! Ask yourself, “According to the scriptures, do I really love Jesus?” Whether your answer is yes, somewhat, or no, there is always room to grow according to Romans 3:23. No matter how far we claim to be in our walk with Christ, we should all be striving to grow and evolve in love.
Read, dissect, and meditate on the above mentioned verses.
Real Talk with Keve 