Preacher’s Nugget: if You Love Jesus

Have you ever received or forwarded one of those emails where, when you scroll down to the bottom, you find these words, “If you love Jesus please forward to 10 people. He did something for you so the least you could do is do something for Him,”? If you have, like me, you’ve probably wondered, “So, if I don’t forward this email, does it mean I don’t love Him or that I don’t want to do anything for Him?”

John, also known as the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23; 21:20), wrote in John 3:18 that we should “…not love in word or tongue, but in deed and truth.” Would Jesus see our act of sending these religious forwards as a display of our love in deed and truth or does He expect something else?

In the book of John, chapter 14, verse 15 (Amplified Bible), it reads, “If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever.” Reading this, a couple things jump out at me: The first thing I see is Jesus equates true love with obedience; not just for obedience’s sake but to the obedience of God’s commands. If we follow John’s example of love being displayed in deed and truth, then the only way I believe you can show true love to Jesus is by being obedient to the Word of God. The second thing I see is that we, as Christians, have access to a Comforter and Helper who will remain with us forever and assist us in showing that love by being obedient. The word of God says “…the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and recall to us everything that Jesus has said and will guide us into all truth.” (John 14:26; 16:13). This leads me to think we cannot fully operate in the kind of love Jesus requires unless we are obedient and unless the Holy Spirit dwells within us.

Now, let’s put some closure to this issue by concluding that as a result of our obeying God’s word and following the teachings of Jesus, the Father will love us, and they (the Father and the Son) will also come and not only make a home with, but also have a constant and intimate fellowship with us. Jesus goes on to say the words we hear or are being made aware of when we are in church, in our own study, or at any time we come in contact with God’s word, does not come from Jesus, it comes from the Father who sent Jesus.

Think about it, how much do the words “I love you” mean to you in any relationship when there aren’t any corresponding actions reinforcing what the person just said? Ultimately, I believe the act of sending or forwarding these types of “If You Love Jesus” emails are perfectly fine because they encourage, bring joy and almost always raise our awareness to how much we really need Jesus Christ in our lives. However, the best way to let the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son, know we love them with absolute certainty is to let the actions and the deeds in our lives serve as a reflection of God’s Word.