on thursday nights, at college home group, we've been going through john piper's what Jesus demands from the world. each chapter has great insights, of course, but i was impacted greatly by the chapter about loving Jesus. the challenge, piper asserts, is that loving Jesus is not obeying Him but actually having great affection for Him. we should desire Jesus more than any other person or thing in the world, not simply consider Him our highest priority in theory.

this is a groundbreaking truth for people who spin their wheels trying to "love" Jesus with obedience but don't like Him or like serving Him. piper points to john 14:15 ("If you love me, you will keep my commandments.") and notes that obedience is a product of love and therefore evidence. BUT obedience does not equal love.

so the key is stirring our affections for Jesus. not trying to backstroke our way into loving Jesus by modifying our behavior. i'm sure most burned out christians didn't realize this truth, if they were truly regenerate to begin with.

on a related note, loving our neighbors/enemies must involve more than just doing things for them. if it follows the rest of Jesus' demands, it's something only He can do through us. that leads me to believe that Jesus would have us actually care about and care for our neighbors/enemies... to have affection for them. surely this something only Christ can accomplish in us!



this is probably elementary to most of you. just thought i'd share!



and to go with this lesson, i wanted to post one of my new faves. check it out below...

(i didn't make this video, please forgive any typos.)