I just want to love Jesus.
That is all.
I want a heart that burns with the utmost passion for Him.
I want to spend my life on Him and Him alone.
I want Him to occupy the space within my thoughts.
I want Him to be the motive of my life.
I know deep within me that this is what I was created for.
The greatest commandment is to love Him with all that we are (Matthew 22:37-38).
He wants me to love Him.
He longs to be wanted.
This does something to me.
I don’t feel pressure when I consider these things. I feel privileged.
I am overwhelmed by the thought that God wants my love.
The whole reason you desire to be loved is because you were made in His image. You want what He wants.
This simplifies it, doesn’t it?
Love isn’t something that you do. Love is something that you’re in.
When I am in love, I do.
When I love Him, I’ll keep His commands (John 14:21).
When I love Him, I will keep His word (John 14:23).
When I love Him, I love you. The second commandment is like the first (Matthew 23:39).
When I love Him, I desire to please Him.
In short, love itself is a law.
God could have created anything to satisfy this longing of His and He decided to create you and me.
This is where our fulfillment lies.
When we live for any other purpose than the one we were created for, we will wind up dissatisfied and discouraged.
Jesus Himself said that if we love the members of our family more than Him, we are unworthy of Him (Matthew 10:37). What He was saying is this: You will ultimately serve what it is that you love most. What you love has the greatest influence in your life. And nothing and no one but Him can have that place.
The number one reason why I am here is to make Him feel like the most loved person that ever was.
The reason why so many people are discouraged, frustrated, and disappointed is because something else took His place… something else stole their focus.
You can always tell when you begin to love something more than Him when you fret and worry over it. Why? Because you’ll always seek to protect what it is you love most.
This is why leaving our first love is not a small thing. It’s referred to as a ‘great fall’ (Revelation 2:5).
Backsliding is not the result of choosing to willfully sin. It’s the result of failing to love God with all of your heart.
And I believe that the number one thing God is doing this year is bringing us back to the place where we love Him and He is first in our lives.
In order for this to happen, God is going to have us revisit what first gripped our hearts in the first place.
This is why it goes on to say in Revelation 2:5 to “remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first…”
In other words, remember what it was like to burn for Him… remember what it was like when your primary concern was loving Him… remember what it was like to only want to be with Him… and come back and do what you first did.
Why?
Because God cares more about your burning heart than your right life.
You can live right and do right and not love Him. If you don’t believe me, read Revelation 2:2-3.
My desire is that the fire of my affection for Him continues to burn hotter than ever before, but I realize that I cannot satisfy this desire. The only one that can do that is the Holy Spirit.
It’s the Holy Spirit who sheds abroad in my heart the love of God (Romans 5:5).
He and He alone grants us the desire and ability to love Jesus.
Because He Himself is in love with the Son of God, He can stir up this affection within us.
If you find yourself in the place of not loving Jesus like you once did… If you find that something has gotten in the way… If you find that you’ve allowed something to matter more that doesn’t matter most… then all you need to do is repent.
You change your mind about how you’re living in light of the truth that’s penetrated your being, and as you do, invite the Holy Spirit to once again rekindle the embers of what used to be a raging fire of love for Jesus.
He is more than willing to breathe on what’s still smoldering.
He is in the business of resurrecting what was once alive.
- Brian Connolly, Faith Like Birds
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