Do You Love Jesus?

Do You Love Jesus?

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.’” John 14:23-24.

Many people profess to love Jesus. They love to hear about forgiveness and eternal life with Him. But how many people really keep His word?

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” Matt. 7:1. These are Jesus’ own words; yet how seriously have I taken them to heart? If I continue to judge and criticize others in my thoughts, then I do not love Jesus, and I will not come to fellowship with the Father and the Son.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:15-17. To love Jesus is to love the truth about myself, because the Spirit of Jesus is the Spirit of truth. When I love Him and keep His commandments, I am able to receive the Helper—the Spirit of truth.

By the word of God this Spirit helps me to see my wretched human nature to an ever-increasing degree and gives me the power to overcome the sin that dwells within me. This is what it means to walk in the light. 1 John 1:7.

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” John 8:31-32. What a liberation to acknowledge the truth that it is the sin within me that is the cause of all my unrest! The problem is not with my earthly circumstances or with those around me. There is no need to judge the others, or to wish that they would change for my sake.

It is only by loving Jesus, living according to His word and acknowledging the truth about myself that I come to true freedom! “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36.