Pause and think about this idea for just a moment. How much does God the Father love Jesus? Now try to understand what Jesus was saying in John 15:9. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” Take how much God loves Jesus and think – that’s how much Jesus loves me. Then it says to remain in his love. Or in other words, abide in his love. Walk in his love. Be strengthened by his love. Be confident in his love. In the words of the songwriter – Oh, How He loves you and me! It should take our breath away just to think about it.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Wow – Paul is asking us to imitate his life because he is imitating Christ. Would I be able to say such a thing! Do I love others the way Jesus loved people? Does my life look anything like Jesus’ life? Am I even striving for that? Does it matter to me? Am I even concerned about other people?
It’s not about being intelligent. It’s not about what I know. It has nothing to do with whether I read through the whole Bible last year. It has nothing to do with how many verses I memorized. It’s about who I know. Do I really know Jesus? It’s about how I live. Is my life patterned after my Savior? Romans 8:29 tells us that our ultimate goal is to be conformed to the image of Christ. Am I getting any closer to that goal?
I pray that God will break my heart for the lost, that he will give me a true love for other people, and that he will help me live out the things that I know to be true. I pray that I will be seeking to build others up in their faith. I pray that God will allow my life to demonstrate the love of Christ to the point that when others watch me, they will get a glimpse of Jesus.
What about you? What are you praying for God to do in your heart and life?
No comments:
Post a Comment