And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. Judges 16:15
Even though Delilah was a harlot who didn’t love Samson and was using her seductive methods to ensnare him, she had a point when she said,”…How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me?…”
I believe that God spoke through her to many of us Christians so that we can examine ourselves. For many of us say, “I love you Lord” but our heart is not with our words. For instance, say that you are in a relationship with a person of the opposite sex. Would you believe or have an connection with the other person when they say I love you while flirting and thinking about someone else? How many of us said I love you to Jesus while are hearts were with many things of the world? Would you be happy if your spouse or the person you’re in a relationship with, had other lovers? Would you like to be second place in his or her life? So why are we treating Jesus like this, knowing we ourselves don’t like this treatment?
And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. Ezekiel 33:31
We must ask for forgiveness and turn away from deceiving ourselves. Because if Jesus was like us and said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13” or “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16” while His heart was not with us, He wouldn’t have showed us a part His love by dying for us. Additionally, if Jesus’ heart wasn’t with us, eternal life would have been nothing more but a dream. O bless the name of Jesus and glory, honour and dominion to Him for not being as us.
Jesus dying for us alone should have been enough for us to love Him, but He didn’t just do that, He provides for us, protects, leads, strengthens, forgives, teaches, chastens, delivers, loves, gives power to us overcome sin and to bear temptation and so much more! Everything is beneficial to us because the Lord doesn’t need anything from us, all that He requires from us is to keep His commandments for our own good:
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?Deuteronomy 10:12-13
The Lord surely loves with all His heart and He shows it. If we say we love Him we ought to show it by obeying His words:
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. John 13:34
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35
If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15
