
Bible verses such as “For God so
loved the world that He gave His only son, so that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16), “God demonstrates His own
love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8), and the assurance of pardon in 1John
1:9, the promise of forgiveness and restoration to a right standing with God
when we confess our sins (“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and
will forgive us our sins and purify us of all unrighteousness”) do not begin to scratch the surface of why
Jesus is worthy of my love. Nor do they
adequately explain why I love Him. To be
honest, I don’t think anything can, but I will try.
It is one thing to love Jesus
because of what I learned as a child. When
I was growing up, I believed in Jesus and knew who He is. I knew He was the Son of God, that He died on
a cross for my sins, was buried, rose from the dead, and ascended into
heaven. I knew I was supposed to love
Jesus, but I loved Him as though he were a family member whom I had never met. I knew about Him, but nothing more. It was not until I was in my mid-20’s that my
knowledge of Jesus started to become a relationship with the Son of the Living
God. Love takes on a whole new depth and dimension
when it is experienced in a deeply personal way.
There have been many times
throughout the years when I have encountered Jesus in ways that have deeply
touched me. The “Jesus Encounter” that
most profoundly ignited my love for the Lord is rooted in a time when I saw
myself as insignificant to others and to the world around me. You may say I was having a “pity-party”; I
would say it was more like a “pity-palooza.”
In the midst of my feeling lonely and isolated, Jesus used a story being
told on a radio broadcast at that very moment to change my heart. The story was similar to the widow who
dropped the two copper coins in the offering box (Luke 21:1-4). I realized that no matter how low I see
myself, I still have value. I have a
purpose. I have a valuable contribution
to make.
Jesus first loved me. God sent Jesus so by believing in Him, I
would have eternal life. Jesus died on a
cross as payment for my sins, even though I did not deserve such mercy. When I confess my sins I am forgiven, and I
have right standing with God because of Jesus.
Through Jesus I have value, and have a contribution to make that will
glorify God. These are reasons why I
love Jesus!
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