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Wow! What a loaded question.
First, do you love the Lord, or are you in love with the Lord?
I know it sounds like semantics (the meaning and interpretation of words), but stay with me.
People “in love” act differently than people who say they love. For example, when my wife and I were dating, I was “in love” with her. My world, routine, and life changed so I could be with her.
We have “loved” each other through the years, but the passion of changing everything to be with her has given way to more reasoned responses. For example, “Honey, can you give me a hand with this?” is responded to by saying, “Certainly. I will be there as soon as I finish this.”
(Can anyone relate to that?)
It isn’t that we do not love each other, but the passion of being in love (this isn’t in a sexual context) doesn’t drive our actions as it once did.
It isn’t a bad thing, although it could lead to something bad; it is a fact of human nature.
When I say, “I love the Lord,” do I understand what I am saying?
Can I say I have a passion for him, like being “in love” with him, or do I respond more reasonably, like, “Certainly. I will be there as soon as I finish this?”
In other words, I do love you and will do this as soon as it is convenient for me.
Can you see the difference?
To be “in love” means dropping everything to be there now, while “love” often means as soon as I can get to it.
Why is this important?
It is important because correctly identifying your love for the Lord will help you understand what happens in your life.
For example, when Saul was converted, Jesus told him the great things he would suffer for him.
There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision: “Ananias.” “Yes, Master?” he answered.” Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He’s there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again.”
Ananias protested, “Master, you can’t be serious. Everybody’s talking about this man and the terrible things he’s been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he’s shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us.”
But the Master said, “Don’t argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to Gentiles and kings and Jews. And now I’m about to show him what he’s in for – the hard suffering that goes with this job.”
Acts 10:10-16 The Message
Saul (later known as Paul) was “in love” with Jesus because he immediately gave himself to following Him.
Judas Iscariot (one of the 12 disciples) loved the Lord, but betrayed him.
“That’s when Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot. He was one of the Twelve.”
Luke 22:3 The Message
How could this happen?
The Bible tells us that Judas was a thief.
“Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, “Why wasn’t this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces.”
He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them.”
John 12:4-6 The Message
The scriptures do not say this, but it can be said that Judas’s “love” for the Lord was, “I do love you, and I will do this as soon as it is convenient for me.”
The danger with this kind of love is (like Judas) that it opens the door for the adversary, the devil, to manipulate you through lies and deception.
It is a red flag that he was not “in love” with the Lord in the depths of his being.
The Apostle Peter (on the other hand) expressed the same kind of love when confronted by bystanders at the trial of Jesus.
“One of the Chief Priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Again, Peter denied it. Just then a rooster crowed.”
John 18:26-27 The Message
Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” He went out and cried and cried and cried.
Matthew 26:75 The Message
Can you see the difference? When the truth hit Peter, he remembered what Jesus said and bitterly wept because he was “in love” with the Lord in the depths of his being.
There must be some level of being “in love” with the Lord.
For the Apostle Paul, it was outwardly evident because he quickly responded.
For Peter, it welled up from within, causing him to repent when confronted with his shortcomings.
The same is said for the Christ-follower.
If your love for the Lord is like Judas’s, you need serious self-examination and the love of the Christ-following community.
If your love for the Lord is like Peter’s love, you possess the genesis capacity, but your life will need to be challenged to allow it to spring up within you.
In this case, you need the love of the Christ-following community to surround you with encouragement.
If you are “in love” like the Apostle Paul, it will be evident, and you will need the Christ-following community to guide you to maturity.
Applying this “love” to surrendering
It is safe to say that at some point in his relationship with Jesus, Judas surrendered to him. It would also be safe to say that Judas did not cultivate that relationship, thus allowing it to grow.
It is possible that the routine of “doing” replaced the love of “being,” which would explain how the door was opened to allow the devil’s lies and deception to take hold.
Judas’s love should be a warning to check your relationship with the Lord. If you find your love has been replaced with routine, reach out to your community of Christ-followers for help. Then (and just as important) follow their instruction as (together) you grow in a close personal relationship with the Godhead.
Peter’s love should encourage you (and likely means you have walked with the Lord for a while). If you find yourself being slow to respond to the Lord (“Certainly. I will be there as soon as I finish this?”), reach out to the community of Christ-followers to challenge you to a deeper walk with the Lord.
Paul’s love is not challenged, which means surrendering comes quickly.
Humanity is living in an excitingly scary time, and Christ-followers must step up to the plate in preparation.
The call of the Spirit is going out across the land for light bearers and (wisdom-speaking) truth givers to bring the words of life to a lost and dying world—one person at a time.
Will you join me?
The journey is exciting and scary, and I am thankful for everyone who is willing to accompany me on it.
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