If you love him, live for him.

I believe that this question was made for you. Yes, you reading this. Do you really love God?

The Bible calls us to examine ourselves in light of the scriptures and to see if we stand. I think that this is necessary for each of us to do today, and each and every day after that.

A lot of Christians assure themselves falsely. They say "I read my Bible, I pray every day, I go to church" but let me tell you something; that does not mean you love your God. Perhaps in the eyes of this world, it does, but may I remind you that the world's standards are far lower than God's standards. In fact, they are so low that they really should not be compared.

Loving God means sacrifice. Sacrifice means surrendering yourself to him and giving up some of the things that you once loved so much but are essentially harmful. If you are not willing to sacrifice all for him, then you don't really love him. There is a story in Matthew 19:16-22 where a rich man comes to Jesus and asks how he may make it to heaven. He informs Jesus that he keeps all the commandments and has done so since childhood. So Jesus asks him to sell all that he has and give it to the poor, then to come and follow him. However, the man walks away sorrowfully, because he had many possessions and was not willing to give them up.

Ask yourself, if that was you in that situation, would you do the same? Would you walk away, sad? The honest truth is, most of us would. Many of us are so attached to these worldly, temporary things that we cannot imagine life without it. You shouldn't feel guilty for this, however, because Jesus addresses this in the following verses of Matthew 19. Read it for yourself. He said that "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible". He acknowledges that our own strength is insufficient to bring us to heaven, or to cause us to sacrifice what we have. He realises that it is very hard and this is why he offered up himself to help us. Jesus died on that cross for our addictions, for our guilt, for our shame, so that we can let go of those things and come to God. When you truly accept Jesus into your life, he gives you this option to walk away from those things, but you first have to open your heart to him.

Many people will not understand what this means or why God requires us to sacrifice all for him. So allow me to tell you now. God wants you to sacrifice all for him, because he sacrificed all for you. It is as if people don't realise the amount of strength it takes to give up your ONE and ONLY child to death, for the sake of people who may not even care. Imagine it like this. Your worst enemies are brought to court. These people have lied to you, stolen from you, murdered the people you love and did the most inhumane things possible. They have hurt you to such an extent that no apology could ever make up for it. Now these people are given the death penalty, with one condition being the exception. The judge says to them "Unless anybody is willing to replace you in this death sentence, you are condemned". Now these people have been evil and wicked their whole lives. They have not been merciful, nor kind, nor have shown love. They deserve to die. Then all of a sudden, you stand up and tell the judge "I will take their place". Okay hold up, hold up, slow down you're probably thinking. "I could never do that," some of you will laugh. But that is exactly what God did. He stood up, and took the misery and pain and death that we were supposed to get and took it on himself. He took the death penalty, where we were supposed to have it. Jesus, the most pure man who has ever tread upon the earth, was punished as if he was the most impure. And he did it all out of love. He did it out of the infinite, unconditional love that he has for you. The love that still exists and remains and doesn't ever reduce, even when you curse at his name, even when you disobey him, even when you treat him like a stranger, he still loves you. So give him a break and start to show that love back.

How do I open my heart up to Christ? You must first realise the depth of sin that you are in. You must first acknowledge how you are not worthy of God, because of all the evil you have done against him (Remember, if you are doing evil against your fellow human beings, you are doing evil against God. Read Matthew 25:34-46). Once you realise this, you must repent of this. Repenting means being genuinely sorry for all that you have done and being ready to turn away from your sins and change. It is not a thing you do with your mouth alone, but with your heart. God is not mocked. You must be SERIOUS about wanting to change, and God will see that. Go to God in prayer and confess to him, in your own words, all that you have done and that you are sorry. You don't need a priest or pastor to do this for you, you can do it right now by yourself. Then as Romans 10:9 says, you must confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved. After that, you have to be willing to live 100% for Christ. It won't be easy, it will be hard. You will not change overnight, unless that is how God wants it, but likely it will take time and this is normal. Being cleansed is a lifetime process but you must try and play your part too, while allowing Jesus to do the work. Opening your heart to him means talking to him as much as possible about everything going on in your mind and your life. It means reading his word, the Bible, and allowing this word to change you as a person by adjusting your life to what the Bible says. In John 14:15, Jesus says "If ye love me, keep my commandments." So if you really love him, do that.

And maybe you are being honest with yourself now and know that you don't love God. Don't fear, nor feel guilty. By doing the same outlined above, you can grow to love him. Read the book of John in the Bible, that will guide you. If you don't have a Bible, there are Bible websites online such as https://www.biblegateway.com If you need further advice, feel free to reach out to me on my social media or through a comment.

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

Matthew 16:24

This is really the secret to following Christ. You have to deny your body of the things which it loves so much; cursing, sex, lying, homosexuality, disobedience etc. You need to say no to it, every single day, and be ready to live for Christ. This is the sacrifice that I am talking about. When I first came to God, I had to sacrifice a lot. Certain relationships that I knew were not helping me grow in Christ. Certain groupchats. Some websites. Some music. Some movies. I had to sit myself down and say "Okay Sophie, if you really love God, prove it." And it was hard. It was difficult and it took time, but with God's strength and support, I did it and continue to do it to this day. This is what I mean when I say being cleansed is a lifetime process. Sometimes you pick up bad habits and have to sacrifice them in order to come back to God. He is willing to help you, but you have to be ready to help yourself. Remember this: "By strength shall no man prevail." 

You cannot do this by your own strength and willpower. You cannot give up what you love but know is not good, without God's help. So cry out to him today and pick up your Bible and grow. God will change you if you are willing to be changed. Sometimes, you may carry on doing the same sinful things, but because of your repented heart, you begin to lose those desires and eventually stop doing those things.

Have faith in God and he will see you through.

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

Jeremiah 29:13

Have a lovely day and be blessed.

Xx