ADDICTED TO JESUS:
He IS Our Only Healthy Obsession!
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (Revelation 2:4)
God commands that He is first in our lives, even our first love. The to world this is so unnatural; people normally see it fit to put their spouse as first place in their lives, but this verse clearly shows that this is very far off from what God has ordained for His people.
People, no matter how close they are, or compatible their relationship, cannot live up to the trust it requires to be completely and unselfishly devoted to one another. People let people down, and it cannot even be helped much of the time. God cannot let us down. People, not matter how trustworthy are still mere human beings and shouldn’t be elevated to a level only God can uphold. People were not meant to live up to such a heightened place of perfection, ONLY GOD.
It’s because of Jesus that our Father God loves us more than we can even imagine. It is not possible to love Him too much. He is our only healthy obsession! Therefore, there is no point at which we can be considered in over our heads, like we can with our human relationships
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39)
“Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:37)
It’s more than interesting that God never commanded His people to love husbands and wives with this same level of passion. We are to love others and put them above ourselves, and even more so in marriage, but our human relationships do not compare to our relationship with God. That explains Jesus’ words to His family members who wanted his attention while He was speaking to His disciples—
“But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:48-50)
We belong to Him—NOT in the same way or the same level do we belong even to our spouses—
“for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of you own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’” (Acts 17:28)
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:37)
Loving Jesus above all else is not a strange phenomenon, as addiction normally is, but a glorious condition in which to abide! Those who are addicted to Jesus cannot get enough of Him. Needing and desiring Him twenty-four/seven for His cover, Guidance and Divine Communion, which is so good and spiritually healthy for us. But when we consider all the things of this world; including people and things we love and admire, addiction is extremely negative and even has the potential to become dangerous. Things like infatuation, food obsessions, and worldly pleasures that take over all our free time and are incredibly unhealthy to the soul and spirit, and under certain conditions, the body as well. There are innumerable unhealthy obsessions that the Bible warns us against:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1John 2:15-17)
But in Christ Jesus our love, even our obsession with Him is healthy and good for us. In fact, the more we give ourselves over to Him, the happier and healthier we are and continue to become; spirit and soul. But, whenever there is any compromise of our allegiance to our God, the door is open for inner turmoil leading to destruction, in which the devil is only too happy to reinforce.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)
Moreover, we are warned in the Book of James that every man is vulnerable to these things that weaken us and drag us down to the pit of sinfulness if we are drifting away from our LORD God, even a little bit—
“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:14-15)
Furthermore, God’s Word not only exposes those things we ought not allow to over- take us, the Apostle Paul taught his church to give themselves over to the things of God, that will lift them up, like what he says in this verse in Philippians:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
Even in our marital relationships, we can become overly devoted, like any addiction, we can make our spouse/intended too important, which pushes God out of His proper place as LORD and KING and puts our spouse into that position in our lives. This is damaging to our soul and spirit, and does not please our Father God because he knows how unhealthy countenance is before Him.
The Truth is when we put too much trust into our human relationships, which will most likely be accompanied with obsession, we will inevitably be hurt and greatly disappointed, because no man can live up to that standard; when we do that, we are elevating people to the deity of GOD; giving our power over to them, and putting God in second place…..
There have even been movies made on this subject, like the most well-known of these, ‘The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.’ And ‘Lethal Admirer’ is another good example. Not that obsession always climaxes to the point of violence, but these films show the danger that exists, as they realistically portray how closely related obsession can be to violence—
To say it quite plainly, we can love people too much, but it’s not possible to love JESUS too much, for we belong to HIM. Moreover, He imputes that love in us to make us able to love Him into and throughout eternity. We love Him because He first loved us. And, as an extension of His Love in us that makes us love Him to no end, we also become so much more loving toward others, which pleases our Father in Heaven and also paints a beautiful picture of God’s reality before men.
OUR LOVE FOR HIM
“One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirst for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:1-2)
“With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!” (Psalm 119:10)
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
“whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.” (1Peter 1:8-9)
HIS LOVE FOR US
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation of our sins.” (1John 4:10)
“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1John 4:16)
“Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” (Deuteronomy 7:7-9)
JESUS’ LOVE & EXAMPLE
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
“Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,” (Philippians 2:6-9)
HE MAKES US ABLE
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”” Hebrews 13:5)
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:1-5)
AND God enables us to love Him more than our own lives, as He cohabitates, not just with us, but within us, in which no mere mortal is capable and changes our hearts and minds to desire what He desires—
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become brand new.” (2Corinthians 5:17)
The more we seek Him, the better our lives will be, even in the midst of trials and trouble, for He will show us His Divine Presence, which is better than the presence of any mere mortal person!
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)
NKJV