I Love You

“I love you” is just the icing on the cake. For someone to truly tell you they love you, they have to show it. Because the relationships we have on Earth – child to parent, husband and wife, friend to friend – are all images and aspects of our relationship with God, love being an action word applies to our relationship with Jesus. 

If you feel that Jesus doesn’t love you or sometimes lose sight of His love, due to circumstances, fears and a lack of faith, all you have to do is remember. Remember that He died on the cross, with you in mind, to save you from eternal suffering before you were even born. He chose to die an unjust and painful death after all the tension He endured with the Pharisees (the influential Jewish leaders at the time). And we know this because God was gracious to give us the Bible, which consists of the New Testament; the compilation of books that keep records of Jesus’ life on Earth, and the Old Testament; an arrangement of books that shows God’s intention to save the world through foreshadowings of Jesus’ first coming as the history of Israel and humanity is told. 

Jesus did, and continues to do, so much for us – more than we would be able to bear ourselves. For this, doesn’t He deserve our love and affection? Doesn’t He deserve our attention and gratitude for as long as we have the life that He gave us on Earth? For giving us another day, for protecting us from known and unknown dangers, and for loving us despite our mistakes?

When we tell Jesus, “I love You”, it’s just the icing on the cake; the cherry on top. We love Him back by worshipping Him, letting our guards down, and putting Him and His desires first, because He chose to value us and give us purpose. If you think about one of the human facets of our relationship with God – the closeness of a husband and wife – they care about each other’s well-being, feelings, goals, and dreams. They are open with one another and are committed to the relationship. Between a child and a parent, the parents sacrifice and provide for all their child's needs and the child shows their parents love by being obedient, respectful and trusting their guidance. Friends maintain closeness by spending time with each other and deepen their relationship by listening, giving and helping, which shows they are true and committed. In all these ways, we can show Jesus we love Him and are committed to Him. We often don't think about our relationship with God like our relationship with others because we overcomplicate how we interact with God, but it is really that simple and is so much more rewarding.

There is an exclusive facet of being in relationship with God: worship. Through worship, we continuously give our lives over to Jesus through our daily, little acts of surrender – our choices, thoughts, and desires – and most importantly, the decision to surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, which gives us the ability to honor God with our choices, thoughts, and desires. Worship comes naturally out of love; not fear, pressure, or routine. It shouldn’t be burdensome because you feel that you must do it in order to earn something from God. It should be freeing and fill you with the love, peace and joy that will sustain you throughout your life.

If you’ve been wondering how you can show Jesus more love, scrambling to find what true worship is, or haven’t shown Jesus love in a while, just remember everything He’s done to show His love and simply respond to Him as a worshipper, and as naturally as you would to your spouse, friend, or child.

Verses: Psalm 73:25-26 NIV, 1 John 4:18-19 NIV, John 14:15 NIV, John 4:24 ESV

Worshipper:

“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24 ESV)

Spouse:

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26 NIV)

Friend:

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:18-19 NIV)

Child:

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever…” (John 14:15 NIV)