January 5 Do You Love God?

John 5:41-43 “I do not accept praise from men, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.”
 
HOW did you feel when you read the title to this lesson? Did you say to yourself, “Of course I do!” or did you stop and ask, “Do I?” I’m glad you’ve come this far in the lesson because it’s a question that deserves some time to consider. How do we know how to answer?
   Let’s consider those Jews standing before Jesus that day in the temple. He didn’t ask, “Do you love me?” he instead told them,  “I know that you do not have the love of God in your heart.” Wow! The Son of God, who is fully God, who is love, (1 John 4:8) rebuked his own. With all intentions to awaken their loveless hearts, the Lord essentially told the Jews, “You live constantly against the greatest commandment.”
   The Jews looked to Moses as the greatest prophet and law giver, yet they rejected Moses’ words: Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Jesus affirmed this Number One law: Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  Yet, their souls were empty.
   How do you think the guilty men responded to the Lord as we do? Our sinful hearts are first prone to reject judgment, aren’t we? The men, as we would, surely defended themselves. “Look at what we do!” could have been a first reaction. But Jesus knew their hearts were focused on, “How do I look? Do others see me as righteous? Do people know I’m a most important person in the temple? Are they aware of how much I know of the Law and the Prophets?” The Jews who denied Jesus’ deity that day in truth denied God every day.   
   Consider, too, how we love others above God. Why do we sometimes go to great lengths to see a celebrity, a politician or even well-known church leaders who comes to town? I’m always amazed at how a “celebrity preacher” or best-selling author will attract a large crowd to a church. But when he or she is gone, the crowd is gone, too! Don’t we know the Lord is in his church? Do we love God enough to put him above every person, each thing in his church?
   Where’s your love? On the Lord…on others…or on ourselves?
 
Pray: Lord Jesus, I pray I love you with all of my heart. Amen. Exodus 20:1-3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”