Growing in Your Love for Christ
What have been the greatest helps to you growing in your love for Christ?
We love sushi. We love Chic-fil-A. We love Hawaii. We love that movie or song. We love using the word “love” to describe things that we are fond of or what we enjoy. But, when we speak of the love we have for our families, that word takes on a new meaning of devotion, affection, and sacrifice. We would be willing to lay down our lives for our families, virtually no one could say that with any sincerity about their weekly spicy tuna roll fix. When it comes to our love for Jesus, in the same way that our fondness for sushi pales in comparison to the love for our families, our love for Jesus must overshadow our love for anything else in this life.
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). This is a tall order. You might even say an impossible one. How can the natural heart be moved to love God in this supernatural way? How can it be moved to prize Him above all other things, good things, that this life has to offer?
It’s an Act of God
We cannot do it on our own. Loving Jesus above all else cannot be mustered up by any human means. It does not come through radical acts of piety or by beating one’s self into submission. Loving Jesus, as He most worthily deserves to be loved, comes through realizing who we are before the Lord (broken, sinful, and in need of a Savior), who Jesus is (the radiant Son of God, who out of love, humbled Himself and took the punishment we deserved), and begging Him to change our affections. Only He can do it. Only the God that stretched out the heavens and put the stars into their places has the power to create a new heart with new affections. But that doesn’t mean we have no part in cultivating that love. Consider these two key elements of my walk with Christ that have been great helps in growing my love for Him …
Fellowship with Him
Daily communing with Jesus in His word and abiding in Him has been the most transformative thing in my life as a believer. Now, your time with the Lord could look very different than mine but this works well for me. I wake up early, before the kids are up, make some coffee and meet with God. Through prayer I praise Him for who He is. I share where I have fallen short and not loved Him above all else. I beg Him to continue to transform my heart and affections. I share my desires and fears. I ask him to open my eyes to the truth in His word. God’s very words have been entrusted to me. Everything that He would like me to know about Himself, on this side of eternity, has been given to me in this book. It is in His word that we understand who we are and who God is. He uses this time to reveal His beauty and worth as He draws me into greater dependence on Him. Hebrews describes Scripture as a double-edged sword. It is this sword that the Holy Spirit skillfully uses to surgically change my heart one verse at a time.
Fellowship with Other Believers
Let’s be honest, it’s fairly easy to talk about current events or family with each other, and that can be so encouraging and profitable in many ways, but when we break through that conversation and into what the Lord is doing and how He is moving; something amazing happens. There is so much joy and healing in fellowshipping over God’s goodness. Hearing what the Lord is doing in another believer’s life helps us spur one another on to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25).
A few years ago, I had lunch with one of our small group leaders. We knew each other prior to this but hadn’t had much one-on-one interaction. During this lunch he told me of His journey with Christ and how Jesus had been transforming his life in amazing ways. He asked me about what the Lord was doing in my heart and I got to share of God’s goodness and how He had been working in me and my family. I came away from that interaction full of joy with a strengthened love for Jesus. That lunch opened the door to an ongoing conversation of the goodness of God and His working in both of our lives. There is a holy momentum that comes from running toward the cross with brothers and sisters in the Lord. We need each other (Hebrews 3:12-13)!
John Piper said it best, “The essence of praising Christ is prizing Christ.” Do you prize Him above all else? Go to God, humbly beg Him to change your heart and affections, treasure His word, and seek out relationships that will challenge you to love Him.
Greg Clark, Worship Ministry Director