[Steve Myers] Perhaps someone said this to you. "All I need is to love Jesus, and if I love Jesus, then I can have eternal life." Well, let's think about that for a moment.

So, is the love of Jesus the only thing I need? There's my bad example of a heart. So, is loving Jesus equal to eternal life? Or is there something more that God expects of us? Well, when you say, "Is loving Jesus enough?" I think what we have to begin to think about is, "Well, it depends what you mean."

What does loving Jesus actually mean? We can go to the Apostle of Love, he's sometimes called. The Apostle of John talked about love all through his ministry—and it's very interesting what he had to say about it. If you think of the Apostle John, think of 1 John because in 1 John he talks a lot about love and what it really means.

So, what about the love of Jesus? Now, here's what he said in 1 John 2:3. He says, "Now, by this we know that we know Him," or we could say we know that we love Him, "if we keep His commandments. He who says I know Him and doesn't keep His commandments…" he says he's a liar and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:4). So John begins to point out there's something we need to do if we love Jesus.

Now, a couple of verses later, 1 John 5:2 he says, "By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments, for this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not burdensome."

So when we begin to talk about this kind of love that God wants us to have, there is a doing that's involved in that love. That love has to be shown, it has to be exhibited. And if we're not exhibiting that love, can we really claim to love Jesus? I think he kind of wraps up this thought in chapter 3. 1 John 3:18 he says, "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

So when we say, "Do we just need to love Jesus?" Well, it depends what you mean. Now, if that love also ties in with action—the action of love must be in keeping the commandments and exhibiting that love.

So, you see, loving Jesus is not just a feeling. The real love of Jesus exhibits itself in doing—in action. That's what the love of Jesus shows itself to be—an action, not just a feeling.

That's BT Daily. We'll see you next time.