All Love is not Created Equal

I have spent the last several weeks really focused on the teachings of Jesus. What has surprised me the most has been the strength of Christ love for all of humanity? I know that Jesus love for people shouldn’t be that surprising given the fact that he gave his life for humanity. But truth be told, it really has been a surprise to me. Especially as I have pondered the magnitude of Christ love. How could Jesus, why would he and for what reason would anyone suffer so much If the thing fueling them could not be categorized in a single word “LOVE.” I have been guilty of using the word love in the same sentence with a lot of things. I love ice cream, football and my family. However it goes without saying that I love my wife and kids more than “butter pecan ice cream with chocolate chip cookies stacked all around the ridges of a big bowl………….I think.” Listen to this simple truth all joking aside all love is not created equal.

I just finished reading through John’s gospel. And John’s descriptions of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus are riveting to say the least. John describes for us how Jesus was falsely accused. He describes how that Jesus was beat with a leather steal strap. And the strap used literally tore the skin away from Jesus bones. I’m reading through this in my quite time and to be honest getting a bit overwhelmed. Thinking about the fact that Jesus did all of this because he loves me. But I can’t help but wonder. What did I do to deserve it? What can I do to pay for it?

Jesus own words as he taught his disciples just days before his own death gives us incredible insight as to what Christ thought about the subject of love. Check this out John15:13-14a“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.14Ye are my friends” You see that, this verse confirms for us that Jesus knew that his love for us was going to cost him his life. And Jesus thoughts on the subject of love were very simple. If you love someone you will lay down your life for them.

Now I know that Christ loves me and I know that I love him. But I sometimes wonder, if my love for Jesus equates to a willingness to lay down my life. I realize that I could never repay Jesus. But to me it only makes sense to evaluate my love using some kinda measure. I think that Jesus feels the same way checkout the second half of the verse we looked at earlier in John15:14“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”

Ok, okay, let’s discuss what all this means to the one who says that he Loves Jesus. If you truly loved God, your love for him would be the fuel that the Holy Spirit uses to compel you to honor Jesus by leading a life of obeying his commands. So if I claim to be a God follower and I don’t follow Christ teachings then it’s true “All Love Is Not Created Equal………….ice cream anyone.”