I don’t know about you, but when I read about Jesus in the Bible, He sounds like someone I would have loved to meet face to face. He did the most amazing things. He met people’s needs (Matt 14:16-21), He healed people (Mark 5:21-43), He welcomed in the people, most people would reject (Matt 9:9-11), He acknowledged and affirmed, time and time again, that women were of equal value to men (Luke 13:10-17), and instead of adding to people’s shame, he released them from it (John 8:3-11).
He was perfect in every way!
But here’s the good news, Jesus has always been, and will always be perfect and amazing. That is simply who He is. And the truth is, we can get to know Him, right here and right now. We may not have been alive to walk the earth at the same time He did; but He has opened the door for us to have a relationship with Him, today.
So, how can we not only have a relationship with Jesus, but a relationship with Him that is superior to everything else in our lives? A relationship where we can truly say, I love Jesus with all of my heart, all of my soul, all of my mind, and all of my strength (Mark 12:30).
It begins with surrender.
Surrendering to Jesus
Surrendering to Jesus is the simple act of acknowledging and leaning into His Supreme Lordship.
It’s believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was born into our sinful world through a virgin birth, died on the cross for our sins, taking upon Himself the punishment we rightly deserved as sinners, rose from the dead on the third day, thus defeating both Satan and death, and He now sits in Heaven, at the right hand of God the Father, not only as the Son of God, but the Savior of the world.
Jesus is the final and supreme authority over everything; and when you surrender to Him, that includes surrendering all of yourself to His authority.
It is the surrender of:
· Your mind
· Your time
· Your feelings and emotions
· Your desires
· Your heart
· Your soul
· Your spirit
· Your will
· Your marriage
· Your finances
· Your body
· Your children
· Your possessions
· Your vocation
Everything!
Does the thought of that scare you or make you nervous? If so, let me ask you a question. Would you ever surrender the authority of your life to someone you barely know, let alone trust?
Me neither!
The confidence to surrender everything that concerns you to Jesus, begins with building a relationship with Him. Without a relationship with Jesus, you will never fully trust Him.
So how do we grow in relationship with Jesus?
We grow in relationship with Him through the Bible, the Word of God.
It’s through the Bible that we learn all about how perfectly Jesus loves us; why He chose to die for us; what good things He has in store for us now, and eternally; and who He created us to be.
If you read the Bible, and you get to know the heart and character of Jesus, and how much he adores you and longs for a right relationship with you, your friendship with Him, and your trust in Him, will surely begin to grow.
Gratitude
Immense gratitude in someone, has a way of growing our love and affection for them.
I love hearing about surrogacy stories from women who weren’t able to carry their children in their own bodies. The way they often speak about the woman who scarified their body, their time,
and so much more, and who gave them one of their greatest gifts, is always so beautiful and so touching.
Their gratitude stems from the gift they received.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
(Romans 5:8).
If you never learn about, think about, and really absorb the fullness of what Jesus did for you, as much as one can, you will not have the immense gratitude that is due Him.
But when you do, when you can get a real glimpse of the cost He paid for you, your love for Him will grow more deeper and fuller than you could have ever imagined.
Jesus gave you the greatest gift imaginable because not only did He die a painful horrible death on your behalf; but He didn’t wait to die for you when you were His friend. He didn’t wait to die for you when you admitted you needed a Savior. No, Romans tells us He died when we were still sinners; before we even acknowledged His Sovereignty; when we were still His enemies, that’s when Christ died for us.
Grow in gratitude for all He did for you, and you’ll grow in your love for Him.
Spiritual Growth
As with growth in any area of your life, spiritual growth requires intentionality and commitment.
Living our lives in step with the ways of God, is not something that comes natural to us. Naturally, we are sinful and rebellious people. In order to have a thriving relationship with Jesus, and grow in our love for Him, we need to learn His ways, and by the grace of God, choose to walk in His ways over our own, time and time again.
But where do we even begin?
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
Spiritual growth comes through many avenues. Through studying the Bible, listening to Christ centered teachings, through praise and worship, through prayer, through meditating on scripture, and through choosing obedience to Him, despite your own desires, thoughts, and feelings.
This is how you will have the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, power, and grace needed to resist conforming to this world, and allow your mind to be renewed and ultimately have your life transformed.
Without spiritual growth and personal transformation, your relationship with Jesus will always be limited. And the likeliness that your love for Him will grow and abound is slim.
Obedience
Jesus makes a strong statement in John 14:15, He says, “If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments.”
In basic terms, obedience to God is non-negotiable if you ever hope to truly love Jesus, as He commands us to.
It’s doing the hard things, even when you want to do the easy things.
· It’s choosing forgiveness when you feel they absolutely don’t deserve it.
· It’s loving the people in your life when they are extremely difficult to love.
· It’s apologizing, even when it tears at your pride.
· It’s tithing when you want to keep all your money for yourself.
Obedience is challenging; but what you get back in return from honoring and obeying God, always outweighs the cost.
Living a life that honors and glorifies God, sets you on the path to falling in love with the Savior, that has already given you the best gift you’ll ever receive. If you’re ready for a deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus, it begins with surrender, and it hinges on obedience.
“When Jesus saw her sobbing, and the Jews who had come with her also sobbing, He was deeply moved in spirit [to the point of anger at the sorrow caused by death] and was troubled, and said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said, “Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept”
(John 11:33-35).
I think sometimes it’s easy to disconnect Jesus, the Son of God, from a being a person who experiences real emotions.
But as the text says, Jesus wept.
Jesus didn’t die on the cross because that’s just what a God does. As if He was obligated to. He died on the cross for us because of his intense, perfect, and complete love for each one of us.
It’s a love that you didn’t earn or deserve. It’s a love freely given from a Savior with a perfectly good heart.
Have you received Jesus’s free gift?
If not, I encourage you to invite the One into your life who heals, meets needs, acknowledges, and affirms the value of women, and takes away our shame.
He is waiting for you because He loves you.
Now, let’s go and pursue peace.
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I wrote my new book, Building Your Life from the Ground Up and Creating a Life You Love, to come alongside the woman who feels like something is missing in her life, who feels like she wants more out of life, but doesn’t even know where to begin to bring about those changes.
If that sounds like you, I invite you to sample my new book, Building Your Life from the Ground Up and Creating a Life You Love. You can find it here:
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