See, we love Jesus and we love other people but to a point. We all know that there are some limits to our love. We all know deep down that many times our lack of effort in love is there by choice.
So, how do we increase our love for God and others? How do we fan the flames of love for Christ and then heed His call to feed His sheep and love the least of these if we truly love Him?
"Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so He went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who invited him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of a woman she is... that she is a sinner.'
Jesus answered him, 'Simon, I have something to tell you.'
'Tell me teacher,' he said.
' Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?'
Simon replied, 'I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.'
'You have judged correctly,' Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." Luke 7:26-47
I'm willing to bet that when our love for Christ and others is cold or lukewarm it is because we lack understanding of what we've been forgiven. We can be very unforgiving when we are self-righteous. We can be harsh with others when we think that we're earning our way to Heaven better than they. But if we realize our utter depravity, and the fact that Jesus died for us in spite of that depravity, we will be people filled with thankfulness and love for Christ and others.
It is when we forget the distance we fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and begin to think that we're earning salvation that we become less loving toward our Savior. If Jesus is simply lending a helping hand then I don't owe Him much love, but if He is doing all the work then I owe Him everything. If I was just kind of bad then my love tank could be half full, but if I was utterly depraved and headed to Hell without a doubt and understood that then my cup must overflow.
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8
"He who has been forgiven little loves little" but he or she that has been forgiven much cannot help but love much.
Remember the cross. Remember your helpless state prior to the cross. Think about what God did when He sent His one and only Son to die for you. Meditate on the forgiveness of God and watch Him fill you with love through the renewing of your mind. And if you've never experienced the forgiveness that Jesus freely offers you I pray that your cry out to him and accept His unending, unstoppable, unbreakable forgiveness today.
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