Friend or Lover?

Jesus speaking

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Matthew 7:21 NKJV

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”
Luke 6:46 NKJV

Jesus is addressing those who call Him Lord but don’t actually make him their Lord. He is addressing those who call on his name but don’t actually love him by following his teachings.

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
John 14:21 NKJV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22

He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
John 14:24 NKJV

The word can’t be more straight forward then that.

If you say you love Jesus but your life doesn’t show that you’re following in his ways, you haven’t really made him Lord of your life. Sure, maybe a friend of yours, that you sometimes think about and sometimes check in on. You may even ask a favor from him  from time to time. But if you haven’t surrendered your entire being to him, if you haven’t given him your all which includes your actions, then he isn’t truly your Lord. He is your friend. However, Jesus came to be so much more then just your friend that you occasionally have a chat with. He came to be your reason for breathing. Your reason for waking up in the morning. The hard reality is, if we don’t follow him and how he lived, and lives, (through his Spirit and word) then we don’t actually love him. We like the idea of him. There is a difference of tending to a marriage day in and day out, and then just enjoying the idea of marriage. You like the idea of having someone to love, and cuddle whenever you want to, someone to lean on when you’re struggling with something, but when you have a disagreement, and things get hard, you no longer want to submit to his authority. You no longer want to seek his counsel. Your opinion overrides what you know you ought to do. You allow your feelings to dictate your choices rather then his words.

I don’t know why I’m sharing this other then the simple fact of me having this revelation as I read his word this morning. Jesus is supposed to be our spouse. The bible calls him the bridegroom to the church. What that means is that we are his bride. We are to marry Jesus. If he is our spouse,  we are to spend time with him everyday, let him know he is loved by us. Just as investing into a real life marriage it takes time (even years!) Before we see a change. Things may even feel a little dull and you don’t want to, but you keep seeking his attention while giving him yours. You never stop working it out and working together. Just like in marriage, you keep on working at it. What you receive in the next season is a result in what you sow into this season.

What will you be harvesting next season?

Is Jesus just a friend? Or is he your lover and Lord?

If he is infact in the friend zone and you haven’t made him Lord over your Life, it’s not too late. Repent of your sins, turn to him, and chase after everything that he says and who he is. I promise you that you do not have to have everything perfect or be totally cleaned up. Just run after him, the more you seek him, the more you will find him. He will help clean you up along the journey.

It’s time to cling to Jesus as you should your spouse. If you are no longer married, or never been, then it should be even easier to give your everything to Jesus. It’s time to get intimate with Jesus again by seeking his attention and giving him yours.