Falling in Love With Jesus

The story of the Israelites serves as a powerful metaphor for the spiritual journey of falling in love with God. As they journeyed through the wilderness, God not only led them physically but also sought a transformation of their hearts.

“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” Exodus 19:4.

God showed love to the Israelites first and was expecting their hearts to yearn for him.
In Deuteronomy 30:6, the bible says, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” God proposed the cutting away of the worldly, unyielding aspects of the heart, making room for a genuine and deep love for God. He took away their hard and stony hearts (Ezekiel 36:26) and gave them a sensitive, penitent heart.
In Jeremiah 24:7, God said, “I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.”

Sadly, man’s coarse heart was sheared and he was unable to love God. With a great heartfelt message, God sent Jeremiah to ask them what He had done to deserve their hostility and abandonment.
“Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel. This is what the Lord says: ‘What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.'” Jeremiah 2:4-5. God, through Jeremiah, questions the people of Israel about the reasons behind their departure.

“Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols.” Jeremiah 2:11

God challenges the illogical and unprecedented nature of Israel’s actions. He points out the inconsistency in forsaking Him, the true and living God for idols that hold no real power or significance.
“My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13

Jesus explained what God’s desire for man is: to love him with all his heart, mind, and soul. Love is the reason for the law. In Matthew 22:37-40 “Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

You could argue why God did not compel man, like a robot, to love Him since he did all he could but did not get the expected result. James highlights the character of God’s kind of love; he says, Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. James 4:8. God doesn’t want a robot.

The same desire exists for us now: God wants us to freely fall in love with Him. When we become born again, the spirit of God pours out His love into our hearts. Romans declares that God pours out His love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). The pouring out of God’s love into our hearts is to give us an experience of God’s love so we can respond. The pouring out of God’s love into the hearts of believers signifies a radical transformation. It is a divine act that renews the innermost part of an individual, enabling them to love God and others with a sincerity and depth that go beyond human capacity.

This outpouring of God’s love is not just a passive presence; it is an active force that empowers believers to live out the commandments of love that Jesus emphasised. “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19, (John 3:16)

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 Even in our fallen state, God extends His love to us without any contingency on our perfection or merit. Christ’s sacrificial death is the supreme expression of God’s love that precedes any righteous deeds on our part. Understanding that God loved us first carries profound implications for our faith. It dispels the notion that we must earn God’s love through our actions. Instead, it invites us to respond to the unmerited love that God has freely given.

When we pay attention to the love being poured out into our hearts, we become captivated and start to respond with fire-burning love for God. When we pay attention to the love being poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, it has a profound effect on our inner being, igniting a passionate and fervent love for God.
Becoming aware of the love of God poured into our hearts requires intentional attention and receptivity to the work of the Holy Spirit. It involves a mindfulness of God’s presence and an openness to His transformative love.
As we become captivated by the depth and richness of God’s love, a natural and heartfelt response is ignited within us. This response is not based on duty or obligation but emerges organically from a heart that has been touched and transformed by divine love. It is a love that is not lukewarm but burns with intensity and devotion.

The experience of God’s love transforms not only our emotions but also our attitudes, actions, and relationships. It becomes a source of overflowing love, impacting how we relate to God and others.

May we continually be attentive to the love being poured into our hearts, allowing it to captivate us and inspire a fervent love for God that transforms every aspect of our lives.

Kay Alli