A Church In Love With Jesus
Colossians 2:1-7
2 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
A Church In Love With Jesus
I am on a quest to fall more in love with Jesus. That may sound strange to you with me being a minister of the Gospel and a passionate follower of Christ. I just can't help but feel that there are some things that have gotten in the way of my all out commitment to fully enter into the love that God has poured out to me (and to us!) So... here I go and I hope you will come with me.
There are a number of reasons why growing in my love for Jesus has become the top priority of my life. Partly this has come of out my reading in Revelation 2 about the church in Ephesus. They were faithful, persistent, endured many hardships, and did not give in to cultural pressures to conform. BUT they had lost one critical component of their walk with God - they LOST their "first" love for Him! They were staying true to their commitment to him, but they no longer loved him like they used to. In reading this I was truly convicted that I had lost something.
Another key reason I'm on this quest is that in my pursuit to understand what God is doing in our world, I started to read stories of people who are encountering Jesus in profound, life-transforming ways. Like the book that Jerry Trousdale wrote called, Miraculous Movement: How Hundreds of Thousands of Muslims Are Falling In Love with Jesus. In this he has story after story of people who saw how MUCH God loved them and could not help but reciprocate that love back to him. This love cost some of them friends, family, status, jobs, and even their own lives.
Did you know that in 2019 that over 100 churches closed every single week in the United States? Recent surveys have stated that the number is most likely double that now. Why is that? What has happened to our love for Jesus that changes the way we think, act, and live?
I resonate with Francis Chan, who wants people to totally experience the love of God in such a way that they can't help but pour out their love back to him. He stated in his book, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God that:
“...when we love God, we naturally run to Him-frequently and zealously. Jesus didn't command that we have a regular time with Him each day. Rather, He tells us to 'love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' He called this the 'first and greatest commandment' (Matt. 22:37-38). The results are intimate prayer and study of His Word.
Our motivation changes from guilt to love.”
I've started this journey and I hope you will join me in it!
Grateful for you,
John