Oh, How I Love Jesus!
LOVE NEVER FAILS!
Well, hello again family and friends. I am back with another nugget to share with you! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey.
“Love God with your heart by living a loving, faith-filled, and purpose-driven life. This requires letting God lead the way. It means living each day in close connection with Him so we can recognize our calling. Once we do this, once we let Him lead, lives will be changed.” (North Star.church).
Let’s just take a moment here to define the godlike love. “Since we are discussing Jesus, we will limit our definitions to the two primary Greek words used for “love” in the New Testament. The first is philia. This refers to a brotherly love or to a close association with another person. If conditions change, so can this love.
The other Greek word for “love” is agape. This is love that is considered unconditional. This is the love that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13 and is most appropriate for understanding what it means to love Jesus.”Agape love does not depend on situations or conditions, it is constant and unchangeable. (hellorhvn).
As I walk around in a love starved world I am so grateful that I am loved. Grateful that I don’t have to depend on those around me for the love that I so desperately crave. Oh, let me be clear, I want to be loved and honored and appreciated by family and others. However, from some that love is conditional, and since I am, as I classify myself, sometimes a little needy, I feel lack because of absence.
But, there is someone who always loves me no matter what. He is there all of the time, even in the midnight hours. For some of you who have spouses or significant others, I think there might be times when you can’t sleep and you might say, “honey are you awake, or babe are you sleep?” Whether they are or are not will dictate a response or lack thereof. Now what! Do you just lay there awake or do you talk to He who never sleeps?
Oh, how I love Jesus because He first loved me. Oh the joy that comes from knowing that I am loved beyond measure. I am loved with a love that no one can take from me. I feel so loved and cared for by Him that I just want to stay close and love on Him. If you can’t imagine that kind of love, just think about how you feel when you are in a relationship. You want to spend a lot of time close to that person where you can get that good loving feeling. Now, multiply that as many times as you can, and that’s the love that is between you and God. Really, it can’t be measured.
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31.
Loving Jesus means loving you. Loving Jesus means walking in obedience. And, yes, we all fall short, but because He loved, (loves) us so much we have grace and mercy. We have another opportunity to express that love. Oh, how I love Jesus! How about you?!
“What really matters in life is that we are loved by Christ and that we love Him in return. In comparison to the love of Jesus, everything else is secondary. And, without the love of Jesus, everything is useless.”
~ Pope John Paul II ~
Well, that’s it for this time my friends. We’ll talk again later, but in the meantime, I wish you love, joy, peace, and happiness. Until then may you be blessed.
Barbara G