In our modern society “love” has become a nugatory expression people use. We toss around the word love for food, things, and entertainment. It is used in interpersonal relationships without an iota of concrete sincerity behind it. The sad thing is that it is often the same amongst professing believers. Therefore, it raises the question, “Do I really love Jesus?”

In church circles nearly everyone will raise their hand if asked, “how many of you love the Lord?” To the comment,” we must love the Lord with our whole heart,” every professing believer will readily agree. Ask some if they are saved and their response is, “I love the Lord.” But will Jesus agree with our ready professions of love for Him?

Oh, it is possible there is some love in there somewhere I suppose. Many today love what’s in God’s hands. They love increased bank accounts and ever-perishing earthly treasures like the new cars, homes and baubles they are quick to credit as God’s blessings.  When life isn’t going so well (as they believe it should and can’t understand why it’s not) however, the loathing in their words towards God can be startling; oh, but they still love the Lord though…right?

Do You Love Jesus?

I have been asking myself this question lately. Do I really love Jesus? Do you? Have you ever given it much thought?

When you aren’t at church, when there is no music, and the pastor is not delivering a stirring sermon. When there is no one present but you and the Lord, what will your answer be to His question, “Do you love me?”

How about when you have all the faith, and what you are speaking to or praying for doesn’t go your way? What happens when you enter a time of struggle, and you have to walk through what feels like literal fire as you lose things and/or people most cherished? What will your answer be then?

Let’s put ourselves before the mirror of the Word for a moment.

We are to love the Lord with ALL our heart, soul and strength. Now, we hear this stated from time to time, but what does it mean and do we actually love God this way? Let’s break this down a bit.

 The word translated heart in this verse is the Hebrew word לֵבָב {lêbâb (lay-bawb’)} and it means the inner man, mind, will, soul, heart and understanding. This definition can be broken down even further.

Can you see we are to love the Lord from the very depths of our being, with every facet of our being!? Our moral character should reflect our love for God. Our heart, if you look at the Greek definition, consists of our physical and spiritual life. Everything about who we are should be saturated in our love for God! Do you really love Jesus with all your heart?

In addition to loving God with all our heart, we are to love the Lord with all our soul. The Hebrew word used in our verse is nephesh and it basically means “Soul,” “living being,” “life,” “self,” “person,” “desire,” “appetite,” “emotion” and “passion” (ISBE).

Do you love God with your very breath? What you do, how you think, your emotions, desires, and the workings of your mind should all exhibit love for God! Do you love the Lord like that? Do your choices, feelings and what you think, say and do portray your love for God? Does your might?  

We are told to Love the Lord our God with all of our might. Some translations use the word strength. Among the many definitions for might, it is one’s power or liberty. It is one’s bodily strength and physical power. One’s ability and also their force of purpose. Might is also the strength of affection. In addition to the aforementioned three, The New Testament tells us to Love the Lord with all our mind (e.g. Mark 12:30).

To love the Lord with all our mind is to love him with the full faculties of our mind. So, we are to love God with our understanding, thoughts, feelings and desires. Do you love God with your whole mind?

All four of these areas of our being are a package deal; you cannot love God with all your heart and leave your soul, mind and strength out!

So, again, in light of this information, we must inspect ourselves; do we REALLY love Jesus?

It is very obvious that loving God involves every aspect of our being, every facet of the lives we live. Yet so often we fail to examine whether or not our love for God is expressed through the things we say, think and do.

Jesus said all of the law and the prophets hang on 2 commandments; the greatest commandment, The Shema (Deut 6:4-5), and the 2^nd is to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF (Mark 12:31a). Now, Jesus didn’t stop there. He said the 2^nd commandments to love Your neighbor is just like the 1^st; in other words, it is just as important!

Does your view and treatment of others reflect your love for God? Click To Tweet

As we see things deteriorating at such an alarming rate in this world, we must do some much-needed self-examination. We want the Lord to welcome us Home with, “Well done good and faithful servant.” We do not want to hear, “Depart from me I never knew you!” Therefore, we must be willing to really take a look at how we live our lives, what our focus is, what thoughts we entertain, our motives and how we treat others.

Church folks can be notorious for pointing out the issues of those who walk in darkness. The truth of the matter is, those individuals who have not yet surrendered to Christ are doing what’s expected of them. The saddest issue is of those claiming to be a part of the body of Christ, who say they love God but are living in a manner that grieves the very object of their supposed affection. (Matthew 15:8)

Do you love the Lord enough to obey him? How about in those little things that we don’t pay attention to? Those inner ways that go unseen by man? Are we willing to obey God’s Word, all of God’s Word and not just the parts we “think” benefit us the most?

For example, do we love Him enough to obey ALL of Ephesians 4:17-32? I mean seriously, how do we measure up to that passage?

It is not something we can answer quickly. Do we love God enough to find ourselves obeying what He has actually said to do, or not do, in His Word?

God is perfectly pure, spotless and complete in moral character. We are more or less holy, as our hearts are more or less purified from our evil natures.

A man is called holy,when his heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts. (Noah Webster) Click To Tweet

Do we want to be like Jesus? Do we love the Lord to the point we desire to be like Him? Do we admire Him? Do we value Him?

I love to watch REAL dads with their sons. The little boys try to sit, stand and walk like their daddies. Little boys will study their daddy, and even practice doing what he does. It is actually one of the sweetest and cutest things ever.  In the eyes of the child their dad is bigger than life; they love him and want to be just like him.

Do you have that same view of your Heavenly Father? God is holy, and He requires his children to be holy. God is eternally incorruptible! He is not tainted by this world. He is separate and will never be mistaken for being of this world. He is not double-minded, he is far removed from SIN, having no pleasure in or toleration for it at all. His values are above those of man, and there is no darkness in him (1 John 1:5). God is compassionate towards others, his love is genuine and untainted. God IS LOVE. God LOVES humanity. God LOVES His family. God is forgiving, merciful and kind. God is pure in word, thought, and deed. He is Holy, which is the total opposite of this world.

Do we, out of love for God, keep ourselves unspotted from this world (James 1:27)? Are we willing to walk differently than this world (Eph 4:17; Eph 2: 1-3; Col 3:5-8)? Are we submitting to the Holy Spirit in this process of being saved, obediently allowing Him to purify (sanctify) us day by day? Are we set apart totally FOR God (Rom 12:1-2; Rom 6:13)? Have we surrendered our “rights” to the one who purchased us (1 Cor 6:20; 1 Pet 1:18)? Are the things important to God important to us? Is it our desire to be Holy like the Lord? Is our heart committed to God?

Much of what we see in Christendom today is heartbreaking. I see professing believers who are so focused on this world. Many are obsessed with living their best life now, and reaching millionaire status by such and such year. Most of what I see is not of a people who are honored to be a part of the special group called The Lord’s SAINTS (1 Cor 1:2). What I do hear and see reveals a church that has left its first love (Rev 2:4; Rev 3:14-22).

The focus is worldly, the actions are worldly, the mindset is worldly, the wisdom followed is worldly, the outlook is worldly. It’s like many don’t even want to be associated with God. They want and love His “cattle on a thousand hills” but, they don’t love or want God Himself.

So, I ask you today, do you love God? Do you love God enough to be what He called you to be? Do you love God enough to love what he loves? Do you love God enough to deny yourself? Do you love God enough that your priorities are His priorities?

Is God your heart? Are you walking so closely with Him that you are, like the little boys mentioned above, trying to be like Him in every way possible? Do you ever pray after an encounter with others? Lord, did I answer them as you would have? Did I encourage them Lord, or did my words bring pain? Am I exhibiting your compassion for others? Does my thinking match Yours Lord, or is my foolish pride in the way? Am I walking the same as You Jesus? Lord, have I pleased you?

Nobody in their right mind wants to experience eternal torment, but if we do not truly love God then we will be wishy washy pseudo saints. We do not spend our days contemplating eternity and because God is long suffering, we tend to forget our days are numbered and life is but a vapor. For many self-justified ones, they believe themselves “to good” to end up with the wrong reservations.

We must love God enough to obey Him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19), because He loved us enough to purchase our souls from the enemy (1 Cor 6:19-20), He valued us enough to die for us!

Truth is, if we do not love God we will not truly live for God. We will live for what we can get from God. We will live for blessings and comforts. We will live the life of a nominal believer. We will buy the lies that He does not require holiness and sanctification in how we live, both inside and out. We will find excuses for our neglect of God and His commands. We will live for a god of our own making, and not the God of the Bible.  

I pose the same question to you as I have had to answer for myself. Do you really love God? Think long, think hard, and think honestly. The correct answer for you may be a hard pill to swallow, but swallow it while you have time to change.

Remember, love is a choice. You can repent and choose to live a life of pleasing God because you love God. You can ask God to help you grow in loving relationship with Him and live a life that exudes that love in everything you think, say and do.

Do you really love God?

Until next time,

Let’s here some chatter out there!

What are your thoughts on this subject? Have you ever taken time and really thought about it?

What are some ways we can train our brains, so to speak, to love God with everything we’ve got?

Will you share this post? I’d appreciate it ;D