Who do you love?
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit--fruit that will last--and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (John 15:16)
Nobody questions the love of a couple on their wedding day as they exchange rings and vows. Their love is not under review on Valentine’s Day when they are being extra sweet to each other. No, their love is proven on hard days when they choose to remain faithful to the flawed human they committed to.
Who or what do you love the most? Your verbal response is likely the ideal response (God, holiness, etc.), but very few people are fully honest here. Who wants to be honest that they love money, applause, and comfortability the most? Where our words tell who we’d like to love, our actions tend to show the truth. When given the choice between purity and sending that late-night text, the truth comes out. When choosing to either spend time in prayer or continue scrolling for another hour, the truth is revealed. That knot in your stomach is the Holy Spirit’s conviction. Our actions either prove or disprove our love for God. This is not an opportunity to make you feel guilty, but rather to make us all, myself included, aware of each invitation throughout the day to choose God. As always, God gives us His word as an exemplar. Every moment that we are allowed to inhale and exhale is evidence that God himself made a choice. When we were still lost in sin, unable to choose Him, He chose to send Jesus to die in our place. This also teaches us that choosing him won’t always feel good.
Where human understanding is limited, God is omniscient (all-knowing). This means He didn’t choose you without knowing all the details. No, He knew you fully and completely and chose you still. If a perfect God could choose an imperfect you, how much more can you strive to choose Him?
Prayer:
God, thank you for choosing me. In spite of every way you knew I would fall, you chose to love me anyway. I repent for moments I chose other people and things, even myself, over you. Please help me to recognize opportunities to choose you today. I really want to mean it when I say I love you more. In Jesus’ name, amen.
