Love of God growing cold

John 12:3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.

Genuine love of God among Christians is growing cold. Most believers now set their affections on the gifts and blessings they can get from God. It is very easy to tell from conversations, testimonies and prayers that very few people still worship God for who He is but for His gifts. It should not be so. Our love of God whould be flamed into fire if we are to witness the demonstration of His power in these last days.

The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and all your strength. The key word is ‘all’. Can you confidently say that you love God with no strings attached. God has shown great and amazing love in giving up His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Love demands response. Do we love Him in return? What is the depth of our love for Him?

If He were to stop granting our list of requests, would we continue loving Him? Or would we backslide? We would only backslide if our affection was on something else for where our treasure is there our hearts will be. Peter so treasured Jesus’ words that he refused to backslide with the multitudes saying that he would not go anywhere because Jesus only had the words of life.

Perhaps no one showed greater affection for God than Mary of Bethany. Before her conversion, she was a prostitute. But when she tasted the goodness and mercy of God she began to love God without limits. On one occasion recorded in John chapter twelve, she ‘spoiled’ the Lord Jesus Christ with costly perfume. Her extravaganza was so wild that the disciples especially Judas got indignant.

He said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:5). Judas is a typical example of many in the church who get angry when someone demonstrates genuine affection for God. They consider it a waste when someone gives away something to God they think is of great value.

Mary did love God. She could not hide her affections for God. She knew where she was coming from. She knew the awfulness of her sins. And she appreciated the magnanimity of the deliverance and mercy of God. She had tasted God’s goodness and nothing else was sweeter to her anymore. She was, together with other women, the last to leave the place of Jesus’ death.

She was the first to visit Jesus’ tomb Sunday morning of His resurrection. Her cry for Jesus’ body when she could not find it was heart-breaking. In response to that deep and passionate love for himself, Jesus had to appear first to Mary before appearing to His disciples.

Would that we return to our first love of God when we got saved! Let us never forget where God took us from. His love cannot go unreciprocated. We must love Him deeply, affectionately and passionately as our only worthy object of worship.

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