Besotted With Jesus

The Gospel's central offer is not - Heaven. Heaven is not even a side benefit to receiving the Gospel. In fact, Heaven is virtually irrelevant to the Gospel. To be sure there is no other way a person can enter Heaven than to accept the Gospel. And it is certainly true that Heaven can only accept those who have been transformed by the Gospel. No doubt Heaven is s place of sublime bliss that will give the Gospel believer the ideal environment for our eternal rewards, But the Gospel is not about Heaven!
The Gospel is about Jesus, not Heaven. Consider this shocking question: If you died and went to Heaven and then discovered that Jesus wasn't there, would you want to be there?
The greatest benefit of the Gospel is that brings a believer into a fellowship with Jesus. This doesn't start in Heaven, it starts here..
As we prepare for what the coming year has for us as a church community, can we consider this shocking question and its implications-

Am I besotted with Christ?

Do I read the Scriptures to gain a more intimate understanding of the One who loves me more than any other can or could?

Is my obedience to Christ because l love Him more than any other treasure?

Do I believe Christ because He can give to me - would I still love Christ if He never gave me another thing?

Do I start my day, live my day, and end my day with devotion to Christ?

Does my praying reflect a heart that accepts that God demands of me and not the other way around?

Philippians 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Phil. 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

Consider Jesus today and this year.

Father, help us to treasure Christ as our Supreme Treasure. Cause us to delight ourselves in knowing Him and being known by Him. May we pray, pray, pray to be in constant union with Christ. May our love for Christ be the single greatest delight of our lives. Help us to be so besotted with Christ that we are transformed by His life, His words, His mission, His cause, and His goals. May we as a church each behold Christ this year together in our community of brotherhood.

Amen.