What Do You Love?

That’s what it really comes down to in the end. What we really love. It’s as easy to say that we really love God as it is for a child to say they love playing with toys, but there is only one true way to love God. That way is the same way that Jesus loved God when he was here, and the book of Hebrews gives it to us straight from the Father’s mouth: “Thou hast LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESS, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Heb. 1:9). Wow! What a statement of profound, yet simpllistic truth from the Father to the Son. But it really is that simple. Loving what is truly right and good in the sight of God is what it’s all about, and those who do this in truth keep that as their focus and priority (Mat. 6:33). In fact it’s all that really matters to them when it’s all said and done. But the body of Christ today is in such a religious quagmire that there is plenty of space given for anyone to abide, regardless of what they really love. Many love the social ‘church’ setting actually more than they love “righteousness and true holiness,” and want to be sure to keep the family tradition and not go against the overblown family oriented theme of Christianity. But Jesus leveled that mindset when he said the following: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:26). And he gave some clarification to that statement when he said the following: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Mat. 10:37). Then there are many who love being identified with someone or some affiliation that is respected and popular in the religious community. Jesus also promptly put to death that school of thought: “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God” (Lk. 16:15). Understand that he was referring here to things highly esteemed among the community of God’s people, to whom he was speaking. And some are just looking for a situation where everything is just the way THEYthink it should be, and in reality they will never be satisfied with anything. These are the spiritual nomads who just keep moving from place to place, never finding rest for the soles of their feet (Jer. 50:6). Then there are those to whom it means much to be in a large religious setting where there are a lot of people and a lot of religious activities going on all the time. These could never have made any sense of going to a lowly stable to worship the new born king of Israel.

And finally there are a few who just plainly and simply love purifying and keeping their hearts daily from anything and everything that is contrary to the love and peace of God (Prov. 4:23; Col. 3:5-7,12-15). These are the elect of God who will make up the bride of Christ, and are in reality the only ones who are truly looking for the coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the just (I Jn. 3:3; Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:6). These are as content worshiping God in a back alley somewhere as in an attractive religiously themed building, as long as it is “in spirit [only] and in truth [holiness]” (Jn. 4:24). After John the Baptist was imprisoned, he sent messengers to Jesus to find out if he was the one to come or if they should look for another: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me” (Mat. 11:4-6). The same goes today my friend. Jesus is still looking for those who will follow his Spirit and suffer the reproach of everyone else who is conditioned to religion more than they are to him (Rom. 8:14; II Cor. 3:17; Heb. 13:13; Rev. 3:20). The bottom line is simply this: If we truly want to find favor with God, it will only come by loving what his Son lived, suffered, died, and rose again to give us. And that is simply true deliverance from sin and “walking in newness of life” by means of the power of Jesus’ baptism of the Spirit (Rom. 6:3,4; I Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27; II Cor. 5:17). As the proverb so simply and powerfully states: “He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend” (Prov. 22:11). Our hearts can be “purified by faith” only by the holy Ghost baptism, and continuing to follow hard after that experience is the only thing that will keep them pure (Acts 15:7-9; Acts 10; 44-46; Col. 2:6). I can tell you that having Jesus as my friend is surely my aim and purpose, and that is all I really care about. How about you? Amen.