Do you love Him? The Bible says that
If you love Me, keep My commandments. John 14:15
and…
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40
and…
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Matthew 25:34-40.
My point? If we think about these verses as building upon one another, if we love God, we will keep His commandments, which are to love Him with all of ourselves, and then to love our neighbor as our self, in doing so, we are loving Christ. He takes it that literally. Here’s a great mental picture I will borrow from Francis Chan, from his book “Crazy Love”
How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ – the person driving painfully slow in front of me, the checker at the grocery store who seems more interested in chatting than ringing up my items, the member of my own family with whom I can’t seem to have a conversation and not get annoyed?”
If you would like to see God work all things for good in your life, LOVE HIM!
If you would like to see God do a miracle in your life, LOVE HIM!
How? Love those around you as if they were Christ himself.