Be The Fruit

Do you love Him for who He is?

by Bill Blair on 24/06/08 at 3:45 am

I was watching a little TV this weekend and I came across a story on ESPN about NFL rookies having to go to the NFL Hall of Fame.  Apparently, Michael Irvin started this tradition and it became some sort of requirement. 

In the story, Michael Irvin remarked about how special the place is for football players.  He shared that the day before his induction into the HOF he had some time to spend alone in the hall where they keep all the busts of the players.  Irvin said that he was thinking about his career and thought, “I love this game.”  He then said the busts began to speak back to him and asked, “Do you love the game, or do you love what the game has done for you?”  Did he love the game, or did he love the money and fame it gave him?  Would he have played the game for nothing like many members of the Hall of Fame did?  All these kinds of questions were ringing in his head.

Now, the part about the statues talking to him is odd, but the question made me think about Jesus.  I thought, “Do I love Jesus for who he is, or just for what he did for me?”  To be honest, I think there are lots of times that I just love him for what he did.

When I just love him for what he did, I think I tend to let known sins slide.  When love him for what he did, it is easier to walk through my life and say “oh well” to my sins because Jesus took care of them for me..  When I love him for who he is, I grieve over my sins because I know they are an offence to him.  When I love him for who he is, I realize that my sins caused him to brutalized and murdered when he did not deserve it.  When I love him for what he did, I am complacent in my sin.  When I love him for who he is, I am ready, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to rid myself of the filth that still exists inside me.

As I thought about this, I remembered the account of when Jesus reinstates Peter in John 21:15-19.  Peter seems so broken.  He expresses his love for Jesus, but I get the feeling that he has no thought of himself in the encounter. 

So what do you say?  Do you love Jesus?  Do you really love Jesus, or do you love him for what he did?