A Relationship of Love with Jesus ~ Amy Vest

"God is love." (1 John 4:8)

There is no greater love in all the world.

The One who IS Love, Who showed us what love is, and invites us into the greatest Love Story of all time - Jesus.

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us." (1 John 3:16)

The greatest Love Story of all time begins, thrives, and ends with Jesus.

And He is inviting you into this Love Story.

Jesus died a cruel death on the cross to save you from the sins that separated you from God, and He offers you forgiveness and a new life in Him.  When you trust Him to save you, turn from your sins, and give your life to follow Him - He washes you from your sin and makes you His own, His Bride.

At that point, you enter into His Love Story - the story of God drawing man to Himself.  From this place, He beckons you to embrace a deep relationship with Him.

Only in Jesus you will discover the deepest longings of your heart satisfied.  There is nowhere else you can find this fulfillment.  God created you with these longings and only He can fill them.  No human - or success, money, etc. - can ever satisfy these deepest longings.  Only Jesus can.

"He satisfies the longing soul..."  (Psalm 107:9)

Jesus calls you to know Him, to receive His love, and to walk in true satisfaction in Him.

If you will open your heart to Him and His love, you will know the fulfillment for which you were created and life will become an adventure of love with Jesus.

Jesus becomes your very purpose. He becomes the reason you live, breathe, get up in the morning, love, work, and dream.


He is calling you to this - will you answer?

From this place of satisfaction, joy, and purpose in Jesus, you will be in a much better place to consider marriage, if that is what the Lord has for you!

He is the Love we were created for – and that all other God-given loves flow from and are a picture of this Love.

Start with Jesus. If you are not satisfied in Him, you will never be truly satisfied with what you think you want in a relationship, marriage, or anything else.

When you get to know Jesus, He captures your heart and you can't help but love Him and want more!  It is hard to love someone you don't know, right?

Listen to just a glimpse of Who He Is:
He keeps drawing you to Himself - relentlessly pursues your heart.

He is the love that will never let you go.
He is the perfect Love and He loves you.
He gave His life for you. "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."  (John 15:13)

He is always with you.
He will never leave you. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
He can comfort you like no human can.
He will love us forever. "I have loved you with an everlasting love..." (Jeremiah 31:3)

He is so amazing!  Knowing Jesus more will absolutely transform your life and love for Him will come naturally.  I can say this from personal experience.  He both satisfies you and makes you thirsty for more of Him!

How can you get to know Him more?

Here are a few ways that you can cultivate that love relationship with Jesus:
(There are so many more by clicking HERE.)
~ Keeping Him first priority in your heart, thoughts, actions, and time.
~ Walk through the day with Him.
~ Share your heart with Him in prayer and listen for His voice
~ Read His love letter to you - the Bible.
~ Get to know Him - Keep a journal of Who He is as you grow to know Him in His Word.
~ Soak in and live secure in His love.  He loves you!
~ Love Him in return - in your heart and obedience.
~ See all of life as an opportunity to know Him more.

~ Have reminders of Him - You know how couples or close friends have special reminders of their relationship?  As I was getting closer to Jesus, I wanted something to remind me of Him, His love, and my relationship with Him.  He gave me heart shaped things as a reminder.  This has been such a powerful reminder of His love - often He will send something heart shaped just when I need it!  Just yesterday I was walking into an appointment and looked down to see a heart shaped leaf.  Remembering Jesus, His love, and my relationship with Him changes everything!

This is a love relationship that deepens and matures through the years - just like any beautiful relationship - and it lasts forever.  A relationship is always 2 sided.  Jesus is pursuing you - you just must respond and walk with Him!

This is a reality - Jesus and His love are the only love that will never fail you, always be there - in every season of life!

This love relationship with Jesus being your purpose, satisfaction, and identity - results in security, fulfillment, and joy.

From this Love, you can embrace the other lesser human loves - including a spouse. You will find that they have more meaning, stability, and true love, because they are founded on Jesus.

I just love how in the 1st and 2nd Commandments the Lord calls us to first love Him and then love others next.  As we receive His love and love Him in return, we are then able to love others with the love we've received from Jesus!

"'...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself...’"  (Mark 12:30-31)

When you are fulfilled in Jesus, you don't need to look desperately anywhere for love.

Friend, it is so crucial to see this - Only Jesus can satisfy the deepest need for love in your life. He placed it in you to drive you to Him. No human possibly could.

When you look to a human for fulfillment only Jesus can give, it makes them an idol, places unrealistic expectations on them, and sets you up for disappointment and relationship issues. 

When you are satisfied in His love, you are able to share His love from a place of fulfillment - in all the joys, mistakes, and trials of life.  In this place you can receive another person's love receive love from them with gratitude, but not be dependent on it.  This places you in a secure place to consider marriage - and then pour out love in your spouse in marriage, if that is where the Lord leads.

"We love because he first loved us."

As in all of life, Jesus is first.

You are called to the greatest Love Story, friend.

Run to Jesus today for the love you so desperately need.

May you find your deepest joy walking in this relationship of love with Jesus - soaking in His love, fulfilled in Him, and loving Him. 

As you do, you will discover that He satisfies the deepest needs of your heart - and that there is no safer place for your heart to be than in His nail pierced hands of love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A note:
There is so much more that could be said about Jesus and our relationship of love with Him!  Below are some video sessions on this topic, if you are aching for more:

~ Jesus is Your Best Friend - https://vimeo.com/59284885
~ A Relationship of Love with Jesus - https://vimeo.com/19587008