DO YOU LOVE JESUS?

I have learned…

As I read the letters of the Apostles in the New Testament, I came across these words “I have learned…” So much of our walk with the Lord Jesus comes from experiential knowledge, confirmed, and explained by God’s Word.

What have I learned on this journey of life?

Something Jesus said electrifies me. On at least two occasions, He said to a specific group of people, “I never knew you…”, to the foolish virgins in Matthew 25,

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “

Matthew 25:10-12 NIV

… And to the group who appealed to their “spiritual gifts” for authentication,

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and, in your name, perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ “

Matthew 7:21-23 NIV

Both groups called Jesus “Lord, Lord,” but that did not qualify them for being true disciples of Jesus.

What was the problem? To say that the foolish virgins did not have the Holy Spirit, as some interpret this parable, is to go against the teaching of Scripture which clearly says that, if one does not have the Spirit, one does not belong to Jesus. These foolish virgins were on the guest list to attend the wedding celebration.

Two groups of virgins, one group wise, the other group foolish. Foolishness in Scripture means knowing the truth but not doing it. So, the wise virgins knew the truth and did it, the foolish virgins did not.

Both groups were a part of the wedding feast but only the wise virgins were allowed to go in. What did they do that gained them entry? They had oil in their lamps. The foolish virgins used up their oil and their lamps went out. They no longer had light.

Scripture also teaches us that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Since the oil in the lamp gave the light, the implication is that the wise virgins were living in the light of God’s Word while the foolish virgins were no longer doing so.

Jesus rejected the foolish virgins’ request for entry because He now longer “knew” them, i.e., He no longer had intimate fellowship with them.

Jesus also rejected those who appealed to their spiritual gifts for the right to enter God’s kingdom, because, although they claimed to have spiritual gifts and used them, and called Him “Lord”, they did not do His will.

So, what have i learned through these two incidents of rejection about Jesus’ requirements for “knowing” Him? Two things stand out in answer to this question.

1. After Peter denied knowing Jesus, although he fell badly, Jesus asked him only one question.

“Simon (the old nature), do you love me?“ Three times, the same question.

First qualification, loving Jesus, takes in everything it means to believe in Jesus. In place of the greatest command of the Old Covenant, John tells us…

“And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

1 John 3:23 NIV

To believe in His name implies a total commitment to Jesus as Lord, our supreme authority, because of who He is… fully God and fully man. I confirm my love for Jesus by believing in and obeying Him as my Lord.

2.  Second qualification… loving one another. I think that one of the most important things we have to learn is to love one another since we confirm our love for Him by doing what He commanded.

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me….”

John 14:21a NIV

So, this is what I am learning…

We cannot love Jesus if we don’t love His people.

How do we show our love for Jesus? By loving His children in real and practical ways.

1.  By taking care of the physical and material needs of His people.” Look after my sheep,” Jesus told Peter.

John wrote,

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

1 John 3:16-18 NIV

‘Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

1 John 4:20-21 NIV

2. By being gracious to one another

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Ephesians 4:1-2 NIV

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”

Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behaviour. Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT

3. By preserving our unity through mutual submission.

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Ephesians 5:21 NIV

Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

Ephesians 4:3 NLT

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”

Philippians 2:3-5 NLT

4.  By building each other up in our faith until we attain unity.

“So, Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Ephesians 4:11-13, 15 NIV

We all have different spiritual gifts and can show our love for one another by using our gifts to meet each other’s needs, whether they be physical, material, emotional, or spiritual. We don’t all have the same abilities but we can all, like a mosaic that becomes a complete picture when all the pieces are in place, contribute to the peace and harmony in God’s family.

“If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!” 1 Corinthians 16:22

I said to the Lord, “I don’t ever want to hear those words, ‘I don’t know you…'” We never will if we participate, together with God’s children, in loving our godly family by taking care of one another. By walking in God’s Word, our “lamps’ will be full of “oil” when the Bridegroom returns, and we will be welcomed into the marriage supper of the Lamb, to share in the perfect life of God’s family forever.

“Let us be glad and rejoice and let us give honour to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”

Revelation 19:7-8 NLT