Removing the Curse.
The apostle Paul ended his first letter to the Corinthians with startling words: “If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!” (1 Corinthians 16:22). These aren’t the gentle, pastoral tones we might expect—they’re the urgent cry of a man who understood that loving Jesus isn’t optional for those who claim His name.
Paul’s words cut through religious pretense like a sword. To be a Christian and not love Christ is a contradiction so severe it invites divine judgment. Yet his follow-up prayer—”Come, O Lord!”—reveals the heart of a man burning with affection for his Savior, eagerly awaiting His return.
Where do you find yourself today? Is your love for Jesus a blazing fire or barely glowing embers? The good news is that cold hearts can be rekindled, and lukewarm affections can be set ablaze once again.
5 Ways to Love Jesus More
The apostle John wrote with wonder, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our love for Christ isn’t manufactured by willpower or religious duty—it’s a response. Like a flower turning toward the sun, our hearts naturally bend toward Jesus when we truly see who He is and what He has done. Yet sometimes our affections grow cold, our devotion feels distant, and we find ourselves longing for that first-love passion we once knew.
How do we fan the flame of love for our Savior? How do we move from duty to delight, from obligation to adoration? Here are five biblical ways to cultivate a deeper, more fervent love for Jesus Christ.
1. Dwell on What He Has Done for You at the Cross
The cross stands as history’s greatest love letter, written not in ink but in blood. To love Jesus more, we must return again and again to Calvary, like Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, refusing to be pulled away by the distractions of daily life (Luke 10:39). The cross is where love was demonstrated in its purest form: “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). His death on our behalf was because we disobeyed God, we fell short of His standard, we sinned and perverted what was right.
What exactly did Jesus accomplish for believers at the cross? Consider these magnificent truths:
• Forgiveness of all sins – “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Ephesians 1:7)
• Justification before God – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1)
• Reconciliation with the Father – “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:18)
• Freedom from condemnation – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1)
• Victory over Satan and death – “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15)
• Adoption as God’s children – “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12)
• Eternal life – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)
• Access to God through prayer – “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19)
• Union with Christ – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20)
Like a miner discovering vein after vein of gold, the more we dig into the riches of the cross, the more our hearts treasure the One who purchased them for us. The psalmist understood this when he wrote, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old” (Psalm 77:11).
2. Forsake Sin
Nothing chokes out love for Jesus faster than unrepentant sin. Like weeds strangling a garden, sin grows up around our hearts and suffocates our affections for Christ. Jesus Himself made this connection crystal clear: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Love and obedience aren’t separate tracks—they’re the same railway line.
The Old Testament shows us this pattern repeatedly. When Israel turned to idols, their love for Yahweh grew cold. When they returned to Him with broken hearts, their passion was rekindled. “Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 3:7).
Sin is like a thick curtain drawn across a window—it doesn’t change the sun, but it certainly blocks our view of its warmth and light. John writes, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). When we pull back the curtain of confession and repentance, the light of Christ’s love floods our hearts once again.
David knew this intimately. After his grievous sins with Bathsheba, he cried out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). He understood that sin had clouded his vision of God’s goodness and grace. Only through repentance could his joy be restored: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:12).
3. Spend Time in His Word
The Scriptures are like a portrait gallery of Jesus Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, every page whispers His name, every story points to His glory. As Jesus told the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39).
When we neglect God’s Word, we’re like a lover who refuses to read letters from their beloved. How can affection grow without communication? How can we love Someone we don’t truly know? The psalmist captured this beautifully: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103).
Consider how the Word of God reveals Christ to us. In the Old Testament, we see Him as the promised seed who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15), as the Passover Lamb whose blood covers our sin (Exodus 12), as the bronze serpent lifted up for healing (Numbers 21:9), as the kinsman-redeemer like Boaz (Ruth 4:14). In the New Testament, we encounter Him directly—His words of grace, His works of power, His heart of compassion.
Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, our hearts burn within us when Jesus opens the Scriptures to us (Luke 24:32). The Word doesn’t just inform our minds; it transforms our affections. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
4. Cultivate Prayer and Communion with Him
Prayer is the breath of the Christian life, and communion with Christ is its heartbeat. Just as human relationships deepen through conversation and time spent together, our love for Jesus grows through regular, intimate fellowship with Him.
Jesus Himself modeled this perfectly. Despite His busy ministry, “he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:16). If the Son of God needed communion with the Father, how much more do we need communion with Christ?
Prayer is like sitting by a warm fire on a cold night—the longer we stay, the more the warmth penetrates our hearts. In those quiet moments with Jesus, speaking honestly about our joys and struggles, our fears and hopes, love is kindled and sustained. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
The Psalms overflow with this kind of intimate communion. David wrote, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1). This wasn’t mere religious duty—this was desperate desire, the cry of a heart that had tasted the sweetness of God’s presence and longed for more.
In prayer, we experience what Jesus promised: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). We discover that He is not a distant deity but an ever-present friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).
5. Serve Others in His Name
Love isn’t meant to be stored up like treasure in a vault—it’s meant to be poured out like expensive perfume. When we serve others in Jesus’ name, something beautiful happens: we participate in His own heart of compassion, and our love for Him deepens in the process.
Jesus made this connection explicit: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). When we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner, we’re actually serving Christ Himself. Like a muscle that grows stronger with use, our love for Jesus is strengthened every time we exercise it in service to others.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah understood this principle: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free… to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house?” (Isaiah 58:6-7). When we live this way, Isaiah promises, “then shall your light break forth like the dawn” (Isaiah 58:8).
Service is like a mirror that reflects Christ’s love back to us. When we wash someone’s feet, we remember how Jesus washed His disciples’ feet (John 13:5). When we comfort the grieving, we experience how Jesus is “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). When we forgive those who’ve wronged us, we taste afresh the forgiveness we’ve received from Christ.
Paul captured this beautifully: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
The Heart of the Matter
These five ways to love Jesus more aren’t merely techniques or spiritual disciplines—they’re pathways back to the heart of God. They remind us that love isn’t a feeling we manufacture but a response we cultivate. Like tending a garden, we create the conditions where love can flourish, and then we trust the Holy Spirit to do His sanctifying work.
The goal isn’t perfection but passion. It’s not about checking boxes but about checking our hearts. Do we love Jesus more today than we did yesterday? Are we growing in affection for the One who first loved us?
Remember the church at Ephesus, who had sound doctrine and faithful service but had “abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4). Christ’s remedy was simple but profound: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first” (Revelation 2:5).
The invitation is always the same—come back to Jesus. Return to the cross. Remember His love. Respond with yours. In a world that grows colder by the day, let your heart burn with love for the One who is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
As John wrote in his final years, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). That’s where it all begins, and that’s where it leads us back—to the inexhaustible, unchanging, everlasting love of Jesus Christ.