What Does Loving Christ Look Like?
We see that Jesus died on the cross for us. We see his brutal body, and we realize that during all His pain; He’s not complaining, He’s not trying to defend himself. He is calm and collected.
As a wise man told me that when Jesus was taken to be hung on the cross; His job as a carpenter was a very physical job, hence, He was very muscular, He was very strong in stature. But at the time when He was carrying His cross, He was fasting. We know this because of when Christ was in the garden prior to Judas choosing the side of satan. The cross was so heavy. So, it makes you see how Christ in the moments of His death; He was sacrificing himself before he was dying for us through His physical body.
This is what loving Christ looks like is dying to yourself, dying to your expectations of yourself, dying to your plans, dying to your desires, dying to what you think your life should be or look like, dying to self is what loving God looks like, dying to your will becoming humble and obedient sacrificing your plans in your life for God‘s plans in your life.
God has a specific plan for your life and that plan comes to dying to yourself in your path of life. Your plan of life requires you to die to self and it’s very, very painful. Your life plan requires surrender yourself to Christ, working out your salvation and becoming perfect in the image of Christ. So, that way sanctification and wholeness is birth in you, but you have to go through that path of dying to self.
Dying to self doesn’t include preaching and doing a lot of works. Dying to self is allowing God to be in the driver’s seat, while he takes all your junk out of your trunk, heals your heart, and mind. Therefore, you come out of the fire fully like Christ in your heart and mind. The word of God is supposed to deliver you and completely clean your junk in your trunk.
Matthew 7:3-5 states “take the speck out of your own eye before you can help your brother and for that to happen you must die to yourself before you can be made whole in anyway.”
Therefore, if you try to help another while still dealing with your junk. You are not loving God; you are bring Christ displeasure and all works is just all in vain.
Hebrews 11:6 tells us “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews clearly states we can not even please God without faith, we must believe.
Pleasing God is showing God, we love Him through our faith IN Him. John 1 tells us that the word is Him and He is the word.
Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate,” tells us to fear the Lord, hence showing Him respect by believing in His words.
Proverbs 14:27 “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.”
Proverbs 3:9 states, “Honor God with your substance the first fruits of your increase.”
What is Proverbs 3:9 telling us? Honoring God means giving God money. Invest in God putting Him first. Then Proverbs 3:10 states if you do this you shall be prosperous. This is showing God you are willing to trust God with the money He has giving you. God has giving you a job, to solve a problem for someone and the least you could do is show your appreciation to Christ through giving the “first fruits of your increase.”
How do you think Christ will test you? Every money decision is a test, are you going to honor Christ or not?
You may say, how do I honor God through money? God has assigned you a person either a man of God or a virtuous woman that has already been refined in the fire of God and has made it through.
This divine individual has fought all their demons and have completely been made whole. This divine individual is God’s representation. God’s mouthpiece, this is how you honor God by helping those that are helping you.
Your man of God or virtuous woman has been sent by God to bring you deliverance, teach you, get you unto the right path. They have labored for your soul. Just like the church in Acts took care of the disciples, this is true today. This is how we honor God.
We are reminded how Ananias and Sapphira died because they robbed God, when they were supposed to help Peter with money. (Acts 5)
We pay for food to put in our belly’s, we pay for internet for entertainment and pleasure. But some people refuse to honor God, when He has sent a person, His mouthpiece to save you from yourself, to get you right before Him.
God will send you a person on this earth that is your divine leader that you are to sow your money into because they are fighting for your soul. Every time, they are teaching you.
BUT, if you are sowing into the wrong person, a person that has NOT taken their speck out of their own eye, not defeated their demons, the money sowed into that wrong person is in vain.
Because you will find yourself not delivered and worse off then you were before. Matthew 12:43-45 states, how you sweep your house clean of demons, though the demons come back with more demons and you are worse off, then before.
1 Samuel 15;22 tells us that God wants us to obey rather than sacrifice. You see, Pharisees were so tied up in their religiosity and didn’t obey the Lord, they were too busy in sacrifice. The Pharisees wanted to stone the prostitute, when Jesus told her, go and sin no more.
Examine your life and see how you are loving God. Ask the Lord, to search your heart and reveal any wickedness in your mind, heart and soul. He will reveal it to you so you can come to repentance. Psalm 139:23-24
Are you missing some most important things in your life that you could work on more?
Christ loved us so much that not only did he die on the cross, but He fasted. He sacrificed his mind, heart, and soul for us.
Talk a hard look at yourself and see what you could do to love Christ more.
Let us recap
Loving God consist of the following:
- Honoring God with our money Proverbs 3:9-10
- Having faith in God meaning believing God is going to do what He says in His word, believing His word Hebrews 11:6
- Having fear in the Lord by believing in who He is and His power. For He is a roaring lion as Proverbs 19:12 and Proverbs 20:2 states.
