Sweet friends, do you love Jesus? I mean, in describing you, would others instantly say, “She loves Jesus” or “He loves Jesus”?

It’s a good question, I think. And one worth some self-reflection.

Do I really love Jesus—and how would I know for sure?

When I think about the people I love, it’s relational. I’m committed. I spend time with them. I listen. I share. I care. I’m present.

Wouldn’t loving Jesus also be relational?

I can love the idea of Jesus. I can believe He is God, took on flesh, died for me, rose again, and made it possible for me to live forever with Him.

But if I say I love Him and yet rarely spend time with Him, rarely open His Word, don’t talk much to Him—or about Him—and make little effort to really know Him and His ways…

Do I really love Jesus?

Ouch.

Now, I’m not talking about earning salvation. We are saved by grace through faith, not by our works (Ephesians 2:8–9).

And I’m certainly not talking about perfection. We get distracted. We have dry seasons. We fail. We wander.

But there is a difference between struggling in my relationship with Jesus and having little desire for a relationship with Jesus.

Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

So perhaps the question isn’t, Am I doing enough to call myself a Christian?

Maybe it’s this:
If I call myself a follower of Jesus, does my life show that I actually love the One I say I follow?
Not perfectly. Not to earn His love. But because—

“We love, because He first loved us.”

—1 John 4:19

So, sweet friends, I’m asking myself:

Do I really love Jesus?

How about you?

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