I love Jesus and I love His church. If you love Jesus it is totally impossible not to love His church. I want to tell you (10) things that I love about Jesus.
(1) I love Jesus’ love for all people even for His enemies who hate Him. You and I have so much to learn here for we have a tendency to want to defeat and destroy those who are our adversaries. I love Jesus for showing us the way to love our enemies that so hate us.
(2) I love Jesus’ selflessness. He is constantly giving himself away to the all of humanity. He is not about Himself, He is God’ purpose for us.
(3) I love Jesus’ relationship with His Father. This is seen in Jesus’ own testimony (NASB). (John 6:38) "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
(John 14:31) …so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me…
(John 5:19) …"Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
(Matthew 26:39)…"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."
Jesus was all about promoting His Father and bringing glory to Him.
(4) He died for my sins and He continual forgives me of my sins as I confess them to Him.
Instead of some much easier way to forgive sins from a comfortable throne in heaven, Jesus stepped into our world and put on the flesh and blood and allowed His body to be broken and paid the price for our sin with his own blood. This is humbling and speaks volumes of His humbleness, His mercy, His grace and His meekness of heart… I love Him for that.
(5) I love that Jesus is truthful. He never said to any man what a man may want to hear but what a man needed to hear such as “Woe to you, you hypocrites…”
I love that He proclaimed the truth alone in order that He may induce repentance in a man thus set him free from his sins.
I love that He is the truth.
(6) I love Jesus’ power & authority.
He had the power to calm seas, cast out demons, heal very diseases, restore the lame, give sight to the blind, give speech to the mute, raise the dead and even overcome Satan, sin and death. He could do all that and yet never wielded his power in unrighteous ways or for his own personal glory. Because of this we have a living hope, by that I mean we have a very real expectation and even anticipation beyond the grave. Because of His power and authority He makes good on every blessed promise to His obedient children for this life and the life to come!!! I love Him for that!!!
(7) I love that Jesus calls uneducated, ordinary people to be used for His purpose as well as the educated and the elite of men. For He doesn’t look at the external the things that a man can see but the external that only He can see as He sees what is written on their hearts. I love Him for that!
(8) I love how Jesus took time for the little things specifically the little ones.
When you are on a mission to save the world in three years most people wouldn’t find time for the little things like little people. Jesus did. Jesus loved being around little children. They weren’t a bother or a nuisance. He valued them and took time for them. Jesus even said that the rest of us need to become like they are and He gave a strong warning to the adults who may hinder them from coming to Him.
We don’t normally pick children to be our role-models but instruct them to find proper role-models. But Jesus did pick them because He looks upon hearts looking for the pure ones.
(9) I love that Jesus was so normal and abnormal (human and divine) all at the same time. He was 100% human. He faced every temptation we face. But, unlike us, he lived the perfect life. He never used “the excuse” to sin…the “I am only human one.”
(10) I love Jesus because He gives you and me every reason to desire with all our hearts to be like Him. I believe that if we asked most Christians, “Why did you become a Christian?” Most would answer to avoid hell and gain heaven. I believe that that is a better answer with greater a greater reason and that is, “I want to be like Jesus.”
I love Jesus because as we become like Him we have confidence for the Day of Judgment. (1 John 4:17 NIV) In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment, because in this world we are like Him (Jesus).
Rex McDonald, Associate Evangelist