Jesus Loves Me, But I DON'T THINK I LOVE HIM

I wonder whether those who claimed themselves Christians actually paused a moment at some stage of their spiritual life and asked, "Who loves me; Jesus or Satan???"

But then again, the irony is whether anyone is aware that Jesus alone loves them. Love is an exclusive hallmark of God, our heavenly Father. He alone is the source of love. Since love belongs only to God, Satan cannot be loving me, right?

Before we embark on this scorching subject, we need to understand and examine what is love and lust. Originally, I wanted to title my post 'Jesus Loves; Satan Lust!' but changed my mind because I wanted us to question ourselves whether we understand the meaning between love and lust and its originality.

What is love? Let us examine the truthful meaning of love.

Citing 1 John 4:19, We love because God, our heavenly Father in our Saviour Jesus, first loves us. God is love. The wholesome characteristic of God who is love is fully articulated in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Love is humble, patient and kind. Love is never jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand it's own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth prevails. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstances.

Now make the verses contained in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 your criterion to compare your love. If your so claimed love does not consist any of the ingredient mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, then it's most probably deceptive love. The simple reason is we cannot love unless God who is the source of love, loves us first. If we have not experienced His love at the cross, then we will never comprehend love.

God filled us with His love when we experienced His love poured out from His heart for us at the cross.

Satan could never love us because Satan is not the source of love. Satan, however, can deceived us that he also loves us. Satan yield the following fruits; greed, sexual immorality, pride, jealousy, lies, fear, selfishness, bitterness, anger, unforgiving and other impurities. If Satan's fruits are present in our daily lives, then we have not died to our old life as we are still slave to sin which separates us from the God who loves us.

After confessing Jesus as our new Master, most of us still held on to their old life, thwarting the new life in the Holy Spirit to reign in us, shaping, molding and growing us into Christ likeness which pleases God, the Father, bringing Him honor and glory.

If we acknowledged that God, the Father in Jesus Christ alone love us, then why are we grieving the heart who alone loved us? I asked a quite similar question some weeks ago; If God is right, then why are we not obedient? If God loves us in His Son Jesus, then why would we hate Him by the way we live?

Honestly, I am baffled by our prudence about love. How could we continuously grieved the heart that love us unconditionally? How could we constantly break the heart of one who died for us? Those who are filled with His truth will be able to comprehend God's agape love and will never live another day hurting our Saviour!

We either live our earthly life in the opulent love of Jesus who alone loved us or we lived in lust with the one out to destroy us by deceiving us. We cannot be torn between two lovers! We either live for the Truth and Light or for Lies and Darkness!

Deep inside me, I knew my heavenly Father in my Saviour Jesus loves me, but my lifestyle is reciprocal of my claim that I love Him. I worship Him with my mouth, but my heart is far away from Him. I claim I knew Jesus, but I deny Him by the way I live.

If I have sampled God's love at the cross, and His Holy Spirit lives in me to fill me with His love, then I will not have a problem demonstrating His love in me by loving others as in 1 John 4:7-8, Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

In the gospel of John, the Jews stood firmly claiming they knew God and God was their Father. However, Jesus in John 8:42, 44 did not agree with their statement, answering them, If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. For you are the children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does.

It's obvious that with the gifting of the Holy Spirit to us, God the Father who have love us through His Son, Jesus at the cross, the Holy Spirit will grow in us an undeniable desire to reciprocate His love for us. If those who have experience His true love at the cross, surely we will love Him too because the Holy Spirit equipped us with the ability.