TEST OF TRUE LOVE!!

Romans 8:35 – Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

The true test of love is demonstrated in our response to the situation that we go through. It is easier to express our love in times of comfort, favorable circumstances and when we do not have any thing to loose. The mark of true love is our attitude to the person we love when we have to undergo hardship because of that person. It is also expressed through our attitude to the sufferings we have to experience because of the person we love. The true love of a mother to her child makes her willing to go through any hardship to bring up her child. Her love is expressed in her joy to go through difficulties to bring up that child. Jesus expressed His love to us by His willingness to suffer mockery, despising, ridicule, physical and mental torture and death. He loved us even as He passed through persecution and His love did not diminish. He loved without murmuring and without expecting any thing in return. The love of Jesus demonstrated through all His sufferings demands our love in spite of all the adverse circumstances that we might go through. We are thus privileged to suffer for Him and we declare our open allegiance to Him. Our sufferings are often because we uphold His principles and commands in our lives which are against the ways of the world. We are made to suffer because we belong to Jesus and we stand for Him without apology. Our commitment and bold allegiance to Jesus makes us happy to go through sufferings which do not deter us from following Him. If we truly love Him, none of the difficulties in life would pull us back from His pathways. Our love to Him will make us pay any price to follow Him even if we loose all that we have and are and even when the whole world rejects us. Our joyful willingness to stand for Jesus in spite of unfavorable circumstances is the evidence that we truly love Him.

Dear reader, are you going through unfavorable circumstances in life because of your love for Jesus? Is the world around you reject and despise you because of you are a follower of Christ? Your willingness to continue to take a bold stand for Jesus is the evidence that you are a true follower of Jesus. Your love has to be demonstrated through your willingness to give up things which are dear to you. If you truly love Jesus, you will be willing to loose any thing for Jesus. Then none of the difficulties in life will matter for you and that you will be willing to accept adversities and opposition for Him without murmuring. You will then grow in the desire to give up anything that is yours in this life. As you love Him better everyday, you will consider it a greater privilege to suffer for the sake of Jesus. Instead of a sense of loss because of your faith, you will have a sense of joy to give up any thing for the sake of Jesus who gave up all for you. If we do not express our true love to the Lord Jesus through our joyful sufferings for Him, perhaps we do not know the depth of the love of God demonstrated on the cross of Calvary for us. Today the Lord Jesus wants us to examine to see whether we truly love Him or not. He is challenging us to demonstrate the depth of our love to Him through our life experiences and willingness to become any thing for Him any where and at any time. When He loved us, He gave Himself for us and so when we love Him, we should give ourselves for Him and suffer any thing for His sake. His love suffered for us without murmuring and so our love to Him should also be love which is willing to go through tough and rough experiences for Him. Today let us demonstrate our attitude to our Lord through our willingness to joyfully suffer any thing for Him.

Matthew 5:11 – Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Thought for Today