I recently preached a sermon on what it looks like to love Jesus. Throughout John’s first letter he emphasizes the love theme and one thing you notice is that loving Jesus and loving your fellow believers is inseparable. When it comes to loving the Lord John offers a number of tests to help ascertain how we’re doing in that department. For your thoughts and meditation here is a brief redux of the sermon mentioned above. Loving Jesus, and by default loving others, is displayed through…

1. Joyfully Obedience

John states that this joyful obedience is an authentic reality in us. It’s not something simply acted out in order to comply with the Lord’s command. Rather, it’s the love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This means the people you encourage, pray for, comfort, rebuke, serve are actually receiving God’s love through you!

Such demonstrations of love are offered unconsciously by the one who loves Jesus. They’re not trying to be spiritual. They’re not trying to impress others. They’re not thinking about themselves at all. They merely acting out of devotion to Jesus which empowers and motivates their service.

2. Spiritual Progress

Max Lucado has famously said, “God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to allow you to stay that way.” Growth and development are the inevitable results of new life. Christians who love Jesus are never satisfied with their spiritual condition. They crave a deeper relationship with the Lord. In all the vicissitudes of life they see the hand of God at work conforming them to the image of Christ.

3. Heavenly Values

Finally, a person devoted to Jesus demonstrates heavenly values. They don’t love the world nor do they share the world’s values. They understand that this world is passing away with all its desires and that this life is the short, temporal one. They live by the saying, “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” It’s one thing to possess wealth and it’s another thing to be possessed by it. Loving Jesus means we hold earthly possessions loosely.

Are these three marks of devotion evident in your life? Do you count it a joy to serve Jesus, living in obedience to His Word. Are you aware of God’s hand at work to shape you more in Christ-likeness? As for your spiritual maturity, are you content to remain as you are? And are living for this world or the one to come?

Take a few minutes to examine your heart and ask yourself what may be hindering your relationship with the Lord. Be willing to make adjustments and ask God to help you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.