Loving Jesus

I would like to start by sharing a paragraph from the book "Beautiful Outlaw" by John Elderedge. In his book he writes: "Jesus is our life." We need Jesus like we need oxygen. Like we need water. Like the branches need the vine. Jesus is not merely a figure for devotions. He is the missing essence of your existence. Whether we know it or not, we are desperate for Jesus.

What if you could have Jesus the way Peter and John had Him? The way Mary and Lazarus did? To have Jesus, really have Him, is to have the greatest treasure in all the world. To have His life, joy, love and presence cannot be compared. To know Himas He is, is to come home. A true knowledge of Jesus is our greatest need and our greatest happiness. The purpose of your being on this planet, at this moment of time, really comes down to three things:

1. To love Jesus with all that is within you. This is the first and greatest command. Everything else flows from here.

2. To share your daily life with Him; to let Him be Himself with you. On the beach, at supper, along the road-just as the disciples did.

3. To allow His life to fill yours, to heal and express itself through yours. There is no other way you can hope to live as He did and show Him to others.

Love Jesus. Let Him be Himself with you. Allow His life to permeate yours. The fruit of this will be...breathtaking.

Now, my thoughts:

I love this book. As I read these words I could not help but be taken back. To long to have the realtionship that the disciples had with Jesus. What it must have been like to walk the dusty roads, to climb the hills, to sit around the campfire and listen to the Master. To think that same Jesus, that same love, emotion, joy and awe can be had by us today just as it was then. Sure we don't have the "in the fesh" Jesus sitting beside us, but His presence and the presence of the Holy Spirit is as real as it was then.

I am blessed to know this Jesus. I am blessed to be in His presence daily. I know He walks with me and talks with me and gives me the joy that could only come from Him. Everyday He reminds me that He is looking out for me, guiding me, leading me and loving me. To that I am eternally grateful!

Who is Jesus to you? How is He impacting your life? Do you long to have a deeper relationship with Jesus? Is He the air you breath or is He a devotion, a second thought? Let me encourage you to take a deep breath, and be reminded that breath is a gift from God! What will you do with the next one? Use it to love Him, serve Him and live for Him. It will be breathtaking!