Morning By Morning #247

You whom I love…

Song of Songs 1:7

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

It is good to be able to say of the Lord Jesus without any “ifs, ands, or buts”—“You whom I love.” Many people can only say they “hope” they love Him or they “trust” they love Him, but only those with a poor shallow experience of Jesus would be content to stay there. No one should allow his spirit to rest until he is quite sure about a matter of such vital importance. We should never be satisfied with a superficial “hope” that Jesus loves us or with unfounded “trust” that we love Him. The saints of old did not generally speak with “ifs,” “buts,” “hopes,” and “trusts”—they spoke with certainty and directness. For example, Paul said, “I know whom I have believed” (2 Tim. 1:12), and Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25).

Thus, make certain of your love for Jesus and refuse to be satisfied until you can speak of your relationship with Him as a reality. This will be made sure by having received the witness of the Holy Spirit and His seal upon your soul by faith, for true love for Christ is in every case the work of the Spirit and must be created in the heart by Him. He is the effective cause of our love for Christ, but the logical reason for our love lies in Jesus Himself.

Why do we love Jesus? “Because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Why do we love Jesus? Because He “gave himself for us” (Titus 2:14). We have life through His death and peace through His blood. (See Eph. 2:13 – 15.) “Though he was rich, yet for [our] sakes he became poor” (2 Cor. 8:9). Why do we love Jesus? Because of the wonder of His person. We are filled with a sense of His beauty, admiration of His power, and awareness of His infinite perfection! His greatness, goodness, and loveliness—all in one brilliant ray—enchant our soul until it becomes so overjoyed it exclaims, “He is altogether lovely” (Song 5:16).

It is a blessed love that binds the heart with chains softer than silk, but is a love that is constant and unshakable!

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Another proof of my love for Jesus is my obedience to Him. In His “Upper Room Discourse” Jesus said all of the following regarding obedience:

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:15, 17). “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me” (John 14:23 – 24). If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love” (John 15:10).

As Jesus said, “These words…belong to the Father.” Thus, His teaching on the importance of obedience was nothing new, for we see it throughout the Old Testament as well. Yet—remember—obedience always comes with God’s blessing attached to it. For example, God said, “Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you” (Jer. 7:23).