Do I Really Love Jesus?

We live in a strange culture and this strangeness has pervaded the Church of today.  I have seen some pretty wacky stuff in my years as a Christian which have left me quite disturbed.  Some forms of “spirituality”, whom many have now labelled as charismaniacs, have taken this to the extreme.  They have turned church into a circus and literally go against everything taught within Scripture about how to hold a gathering of believers.  These are the obvious examples of “strange” because they are in your face,  but what about the not-so obvious?  What do I mean?

One of the strangest breed of “Christian” that I have come across is the type that openly professes a love for Jesus, sings loudly and enthusiastically to Him, is very vocal in public, yet denies Him at the drop of a hat the moment things get tough.  Instead of turning to their Saviour, they turn to sin.  Their focus is rarely on Jesus and they thrive in controversy, opinions and division.  They sing praises to God yet with those same lips they gossip, back-bite, criticise and stand in judgement of everyone and everything.  The strange behaviour continues…they boldly say they love Jesus yet hate the person sitting only a few seats in front of them at Church.

Hey, it doesn’t end there, it gets even more ridiculous…they act all holy on Sunday so to impress others, yet Monday arrives and the mask comes off, the holiness is packed away and it’s business-as-usual.  Sadly I have met too many of these and it shows no signs of letting up.  These distorted examples of true Christianity take on the persona of a fired-up believer yet deep within have not been regenerated or allowed God access to perform the necessary surgery He needs to do.  Very strange indeed.

I recently read a quote from Thomas Kempis in Rob Cartledge’s up and coming book Taking Up Your Cross where he addressed this strange phenomena.  Read this and be amazed…

“Jesus today has many who love His Heavenly Kingdom, but few who carry His cross; many who yearn for comfort, few who long for distress. Plenty of people He finds to share His banquet, few to share His fast. Everyone desires to take part in His rejoicing, but few are willing to suffer anything for His sake. There are many that follow Jesus as far as the breaking of bread, few as far as drinking the cup of suffering; many that revere His miracles, few that follow Him in the indignity of His cross; many that love Jesus as long as nothing runs counter to them; many that praise and bless Him, as long as they receive some comfort from Him; but should Jesus hide from them and leave them for a while, they fall to complaining or become deeply depressed.

Those who love Jesus for His own sake, not for the sake of their own comfort, bless Him in time of trouble and heartache as much as when they are full of consolation; and should it never be His will to grant them any comfort, they would still always praise Him, always long to thank Him.”

Isn’t that convicting?  Doesn’t that take things deeper?  Thomas Kempis adds to the strangeness by showing how shallow and empty our devotion can be.  Our love is so fleeting, void of true substance and wavers without much cause.

But, things are changing for those that are willing to listen and respond to God.  What I am witnessing is God stepping down and getting things in order for what is ahead.  He is sifting the casual from the committed and the call has gone out in search for those that will stand firm for a move of God unlike anything ever experienced.  Yes, dear reader, a revival, an awakening, an outpouring is on it’s way as God is coming to claim His Bride (the living and faithful Church).  The plans are made, the banquet is prepared, the invitations are going out, did you get one?

If you are carried away with living your own life, you would’ve missed the invitation.  If you are more concerned about building your own kingdom than building Jesus’, then you would’ve missed it.  If you are more interested in the side-line issues and crave control, you would’ve missed it too.  So who will respond to this invitation?  Those whose eyes are only for Jesus.  Those whose hearts are captivated by His love.  Those whose passion is for the things of God.  Those who have denied themselves and like the Apostle Paul have crucified the flesh on the cross of Christ.  These are the blessed few that will stride into the arms of their loving, yet jealous Saviour, Jesus Christ.

So allow me to ask you what I have been asking myself a lot lately:

Q:  Do I really love Jesus with the love that He finds acceptable?

Q:  Is my devotion to Jesus based on His performance in my life and what He gives me?

Q:  Am I more concerned about my blessings than I am about His pleasure?

Q:  Do I care more about how I feel and what I get from Him than what I give to Him?

Q:  If Jesus were never to answer another prayer I prayed would I still give Him worship?

Q:  If Jesus didn’t send revival would I still worship Him extravagantly and be generous with my love to Him?

Ok, I’ll stop.  But please take the time to answer these questions and allow the Holy Spirit to humble you and bring you to true repentance.  It is healthy and necessary.  Go for it because what will happen after this cleansing process will be amazing.  Trust me…don’t resist Him!