11.4.22 我愛耶穌嗎? Do I Love Jesus?

我們經常對別人說，“耶穌愛你！”，但首先我們需要問：“我們愛耶穌嗎？”愛不僅僅是一個溫暖的詞語，而是一種行動。愛需要被表達。耶穌說：“你們若愛我，就會遵守我的命令。”對於“我們愛耶穌嗎？”這個問題。我們不能簡單地按照我們歌曲的歌詞回答“是”；我們必須遵守他的誡命。然後第二個問題是“我們知道耶穌的誡命嗎？”通常我們認為耶穌的誡命只存在於他直接說的話（在許多聖經中以紅色印刷），但很多時候耶穌說他和父親是一體的。他說所有的聖經都應驗在他身上。因此，我們不能只把耶穌所說的話局限在”紅字“，我們必須真正服從“上帝的全部旨意”。 （使徒行傳 20:21）如果我們不讀聖經，我們怎麼能真正了解上帝的誡命呢？例如，當被問及所多瑪和蛾摩拉時，許多人回答說：“哦……我認為他們是一對夫妻！”

正如美南浸信會神學院院長 Albert Mohler 博士警告我們：

我們不會相信比我們知道的更多，我們也不會活得比我們的信念更高。這一代人必須非常認真地對待聖經文盲問題，否則大量美國人——包括基督徒——會繼續認為所多瑪和蛾摩拉從此過上幸福的生活。

最後，我們遵守耶穌誡命的動機應該是愛，而不是律法主義。耶穌應許說：“愛我的人，我父要愛他，我也要愛他，並且要親自向他顯現”。所以下次我們說“耶穌愛你！”時，我們必須問自己“我們也愛耶穌嗎？”

禱告：親愛的耶穌，感謝你先愛我們！ （羅馬書5:8）請幫助我們遵守你的誡命，表達我們對你的愛，並確信你愛我們。奉耶穌的名，阿們。

[希臘文]ἀγαπάω agapaō (v) = 愛; to love 

We often say to others, “Jesus loves you!”, but first we need to ask: “Do we love Jesus?” Love is not just a warm-sounding word but an action. Love needs to be expressed. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” To the question “Do we love Jesus?” we cannot simply answer “Yes” following the lyrics of our songs; we must keep His commandments. Then the second question is “Do we know Jesus’ commandments?” Often we think Jesus’ commandments are found only in the words he spoke directly (printed in red in many Bibles), but many times Jesus said He and the Father were one. He said that all of Scripture was fulfilled in Him. Consequently, we cannot limit our obedience only to the words Jesus spoke, but we must actually obey “the whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:21) And if we don’t read the Bible, how can we truly know God’s commandments? For example, when asked about Sodom and Gomarrah, many people replied, “Oh…I think they are a couple!”

As Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, warns us:

We will not believe more than we know, and we will not live higher than our beliefs.

This generation must get deadly serious about the problem of biblical illiteracy, or a frighteningly large number of Americans–Christians included–will go on thinking that Sodom and Gomorrah lived happily ever after.

Lastly, the motivation for us to keep Jesus’ commandments should be love, not legalism. Jesus promised that “he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” God wants to love and manifest Himself to those who love Him. So the next time we say “Jesus loves you!”, we must ask ourselves “Do we also love Jesus?”

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You that You loved us first! (Romans 5:8) Please help us to express our love for You by keeping Your commandments, and give us the assurance that You love us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.