Do You Truly Love Jesus?

In the apostle Paul’s letter to his friend Philemon, he wrote, "I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus" (Philemon 1:4-6 NKJV). It seems that Philemon had been using his wealth to help his fellow Christians who were in need. Because of Philemon’s love and faithfulness, Paul said in the next sentence that"the hearts of the saints have been refreshed."

What makes this noteworthy is something Jesus said during his earthly ministry. When teaching about the final judgment, He said, "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’" (Matthew 25:34-40 NKJV). From Jesus’ words, we are left with the thought that, what aid we give to our fellow man – and especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ – is as if we had done that service to Christ himself. To take the thought to its ultimate conclusion, if we do not love our fellow man or our brethren, it is impossible for us to truly love Jesus. Love, in this case, means to esteem others and to want the best for them. John wrote, "If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also" (1 John 4:20-21 NKJV).

Love and faithfulness to Christ and our fellow man are so intertwined that one cannot have one with our the other. Thus Paul, in writing to Philemon, could commend him combining the two into one thought. As you consider your own life, does your love for Christ manifest itself in your love for your fellow man? If not, can you say that you truly love Christ?