Intimately Loving God

Matthew 22:37,38 says : Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.

By our obedience to this commandment, God does not stand to gain anything. Instead, it is we who are benefited. This is akin to a parent giving instructions to their children for their benefit and protection rather than their own. If we love God sincerely then all our other needs in this world and in the life to come will be taken care of by Him. The Bible says 1st Corinthians 3:9

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

We can do a study of the life of Mary Magdalene, Peter and John (especially the time immediately after the crucifixion of Jesus) to understand the different levels of loving Jesus Christ. We shall largely base this study on John chapter 20, which we request you to read before proceeding.

When Mary Magdalene went early in the morning to the tomb of Jesus she did not worry about the problems that lay ahead. All she knew was that her master and Lord, who had delivered her when she was demon possessed, was dead and her love for the Lord compelled her to go to the tomb. The problems she faced were three fold:

1) A huge stone was placed on the opening to the tomb - this could in our case symbolize things that prevent us to get to our Lord.

2) Soldiers were placed to guard the tomb – This could symbolize the hurdles put by other people who do not want us to reach our Lord.

3) It was night time - This could symbolize the circumstances that prevent us from getting to the Lord.

She had not received any anointing yet. Also there is no record of her doing any miracles. She was a silent follower of Christ; however, what was important was that she loved her Lord. When she took the step of faith and went; one by one she found all the hurdles clearing.

When she went and told about the empty tomb to the disciples, both Peter and John ran to the tomb. Peter went into the tomb but John stood by the door. Many of us are like John. We do not go all the way but stop somewhere short of the destination in our quest for the Lord. The disciples later went home but Mary stood there. We need this kind of love. If we do not find our Lord in the first try many of us give up. Sincere seekers will try without giving up. To such people our Lord will reveal himself. Also Mary was concerned about the body of the Lord while the disciples were not. Many at times we do not have a personal relationship and true love for our Lord. It was to this Mary, who was a silent follower, who wanted only to see the body of Jesus, that the hope of the resurrection was first revealed

Remember, whatever our state may be, we should come to the Lord. The Lord says that our love for Him is directly related to the amount of sins forgiven. The more we repent, the more Jesus will forgive us, the more we will love Him. We do not love the Lord sufficiently because we have not yet repented of all our sins and therefore have not yet received forgiveness for them like the sinner woman who came to meet our Lord at Simon’s house. If we lead an outwardly Christian life but do not love our lord then we are living a hypocritical life. Spending time in personal communion with the Jesus daily can be taken as a sign of our love for Him. So do spend time at His feet daily. May God bless us.