MALACHI 3:16 – Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.
THEME OF THE DAY. EVALUATING OUR LOVE FOR CHRIST. Our Bibles give us many evidences to confirm our love for Jesus Christ. That is good. We need to be consistently placing our lives up to the mirror of God’s Word to examine ourselves in this most important issue of the Christian life. And why is this the most important issue in the Christian life? It defines what it means to be a Christian. It is loving Jesus Christ which validates saving faith. It is our love for Christ that confirms we are His disciples. The Apostle Paul would close his letter to the Ephesians with these words, “Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with sincere love” (Ephesians 6:24).
When it comes to Biblical evidence proving we love the Lord Jesus, two stand out. First is our obedience to His commands. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). This is where all healthy spiritual examination must begin. The question we must confront ourselves with regularly is, “Is there a delightful pattern of obedience to my Lord’s commands in my life?” Notice the words “delightful pattern of obedience.” God’s commands are not burdensome to His people (1 John 5:3). Our love for Jesus finds its expression in our willful, glad, and deliberate obedience to His commands.
The second chief piece of evidence of our loving Jesus Christ is loving His people. The Apostle John would write repeatedly of this evidence in his first letter. It is eye-opening to see the emphasis he places on this throughout his letter – “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light” (1 John 2:10); “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers” (1 John 3:14); “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7); “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12); “Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:21); and “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments” (1 John 5:2).
One of the highest expressions of our love for God’s people, and affirming our love for Him, is in today’s scripture – our fellowship with one another and that in spiritual things. The prophet Malachi tells us, “God’s people spend time together. They walk in the fear of the Lord together. They share His Word together. They talk of Him together. They esteem His Word together. And God was among them.” This is the way of the Christian life. We flock together with other sheep. We love one another by being with one another in the things of the Lord. We may summarize the way we love one another as God commands from the pattern of the early church – “And they continued steadfast in the Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer” (Acts 2:42). God’s people loving God’s people do so in the context of community; of being together seeking the Lord in these four necessary elements of consistent spiritual growth.
So, in the healthy process of spiritual self-examination and we ask ourselves, “Am I loving my Lord Jesus?”, do so by looking at our active obedience to His commands and our active participation in loving His people in the things of the Lord. These two things will reveal if our love for Jesus goes beyond words and is genuine.
PRAYER: “Father, teach me how to love Your people the way Your Word directs me.”
QUOTE: “Many Biblical evidences confirm our love for Jesus, but none greater than our love for His people”