To be madly in love with Jesus
Any long term relationship can fall into the trap of going through the motions, and our relationship with Jesus is no different.
My wife and I were married 10 years ago. We put a ring on each others finger and said, “I do”. We made promises to each other born out of our first love that we’d always be there for one another. But if we want that love to survive… to flourish… we can’t stop there- living in the same house doesn’t guarantee closeness.
Saying “yes” to Jesus and inviting Him into your heart doesn’t guarantee closeness either. I know for His part, He’s faithful. God’s Word tells me He’ll never fail me, never leave me, that He’ll never just walk away. You can’t read God’s Word without knowing that God loves you, and His love is sure. Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God that’s in Christ Jesus. So from God’s side it’s all good. But what about you? What about from your side?
Do you have a “Song of Songs” relationship with Jesus?
When I was praying for a wife I met a woman who I thought could be “the one”. I wanted to be with her so bad! But God brought me to the bible and the “Song of Songs”. (It’s a love song that allegorically shows the love of Christ for His bride and His bride’s love for Him, and the whole thing is sung as a duet. They just keep going back and forth gushing about their love for each other and how special the other one is.) God spoke to me through the “Song of Songs”. He said, “It isn’t a “Song of Songs” unless both people are singing it!” (Unfortunately, the girl I wanted so much wasn’t singing along!)
It’s really the same with Jesus- He’s not interested in doing a solo. Jesus wants a “Song of Songs”. Are you madly in love with Him? I know He’s singing… but are you singing too?
Please don’t be quick to answer that. I’m not talking about going through the motions. We all know the right words to say; we know the religious stuff to do. But are we madly in love with Him?
All our religious “stuff” can blind us to knowing the real answer to that question. We assume everything’s fine because we’ve been with Jesus so long. You hear about couples who’ve been married 30 years and then out of the blue they get divorced! They were surrounded by the stuff that made them look like everything was fine. They built a home together, kept up the lawn and remodeled, had kids, took vacations, remembered birthdays and Valentines… did all the things couples do. But they had grown apart, miles apart, while surrounded by all the stuff that had seemed to bind them together. Our spiritual life can be just like that.
There’s so much outward evidence that I’m close to God- All my activities, Sunday school, faithful church attendance, bible study groups, Christian CD’s and books. I sound so right; I know all the right things to say. I look so good! I know just how to act to make me look “Christian”; I’m an expert at it! I have all the stuff that makes me look like everything’s ok between me and God. I said “yes” to Jesus in my youthful first love and years later I still have all the stuff that makes me look like I’m still in love with Him. But am I?
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen…” (Revelation 2:4)
Remember the height from which you have fallen. Can you remember? Do you remember how it used to be when you were madly in love with Jesus?
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