Christian! Love Me More Than These!

I begin by bringing you two verses of the hymn. But before we look closely at what they are revealing to us, we must know this about our love for Jesus.

The Christian's love for Jesus is a direct response to His love for each of us. This sentiment is absolutely, astutely, cleverly and masterfully spoken by Jesus, as He helps His host, Simon the Pharisee, to see and understand. Simon completely misread and misunderstood the lavish actions of a sinner woman, upon Jesus.

This was a sinful woman, completely overtaken by Jesus’ lavishly abounding, forgiving love for her. She had publicly showed how she loved Jesus more than anything or anyone in this world. Says Jesus to His host, who had fed Him sumptuously and well, Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little. Luke 7: 47

Here are the quoted verses

Jesus calls us from the worship,

Of the vain world’s golden store

From each idol that would keep us,

Saying, Christian, love me more!

In our joys and in our sorrows,

Days of toil and hours of ease,

Still he calls, in cares and pleasures,

Christian, love me more than these!

There is a kind of progression here, where Jesus is calling all Christians, first to, love me more then to, love me more than these. Straightway, we are shown that Jesus is not saying that we do not love Him. Christians do love Jesus and some of us think that we love Him very much. But when we listen to His call, we cannot but retreat from our lacking love, listen to Him and obey immediately. He has looked at each of us and He's seen how our worship is to idols, not to Him. But we do worship Him, we protest. We go to church, Christian churches and listen to sermons about God, the One, True God. We read Christian, edifying literature and listen to Christian music. Christian, describes our lives. That is what you think.

Just be honest here. Look at the things which have been occupying your thoughts and driving your words and your actions? Hastily, you jump to say that you pray about these things which cause you stress, worry, anxiety and more, all which are not of God. These are what hold your mind in waking and sleeping hours, so that you are a restless soul. These are all of the world, for if we, as Christians, will be honest about ourselves, we are held by this world’s golden store. Tell me, what has you concerned, worried, anxious or restless in any measure? Whatever it is, it is of this physical world’s earthly, golden store and not of our Father’s Spiritual world’s golden store. Love Me more than your worry, your pain, your illness, your distress, for example. I am your Peace.

Jesus calls us all to more in this progression-type calling. He calls us to not just love Him more, but to love Him more than these. Whether our days are joyful days or sorrowful days, we Christians, have been called to love Jesus more than they. I know this to be true, for I live it. It is easy to be enticed, and fall prey to the deceiver, who keeps you nursing, feeding, petting and stroking your grief, sorrows and distresses. To obey Jesus' call for Christians to follow Him truly, we must love Him more than our sins or our righteousness. Whether we are slavishly toiling daily, or comfortably enjoying a time of ease, we are to love Jesus more than these times.

What we must hear and heed; what we must receive and believe; what we must know and show, is that Jesus calls us at all times. He is still calling Christians in the midst of our cares, regardless of how heavy and burdensome they may be. He is calling us to not give them our love, but to love Him more than we love them. If perchance, there are Christians who are in pleasurable, blessed times, times of radiant sunshine, He is also calling you to not love them more than you love Him. The first and most important way of not loving any of these – good times or bad times; pleasure times or pain times - more than Jesus, is to desist from worshipping them. Check it out! We adore our misfortunes and fortunes to the extent that they are what we are always anxious to talk about. No matter what we speak of Jesus, our cares and pleasure are our idols which we so proudly worship.

Jesus, in His persistent love, wants all Christians to jealously love Him, as He jealously loves each and every single person who heeds His call. Jesus has given us His singular love and He wants the same for us in response.