The disciple whom Jesus loved
is what John called himself many times in the gospel he wrote
He was the one who had his head on Jesus’ chest at the last supper
He is also the only disciple who was at Jesus’ crucifixion along with the Marys Woman behold thy son!
When Jesus therefore saw his mother,
and the disciple standing by, whom he loved,
he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!
And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. John 19:26-27
The other disciples asked John to ask Jesus things when they were too scared
Jesus loved all the disciples but John knew it
Jesus does know how we feel and notice our dedication or lack thereof
Hence, He rebuked those who had lost their first love:
Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,
because thou hast left thy first love. Revelation 2:4
How to get to that place and to realize without a shadow of a doubt
that God loves you the way He loved John
Some people seem to know how much God loves them
but even that might not be to the same degree that John knew
Not sure there is a key, but if there is,
it might be full dedication to the Lord like John had
Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom
one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. John 13:23
If we look back on the Old Testament, the characters in the Bible,
there were a few that were very solid in their relationship with God:
Moses, Noah, Abraham, David, Job, Daniel, Jeremiah,
Elijah and others perhaps
Things were so different in those days than what we now know
If each of us were to examine our relationship with God, how solid are we?
How much do we know God loves us?
One can profess that love, but all the disciples
would have said Jesus loved them, how was John different?
And was he really different or was he more dedicated to Jesus
or was it that He was more able to receive that love from Jesus?
Thoughts to consider
God is no respecter of persons
He does see our hearts,
some of us must love Him more than others
Some have given up more to follow Him
He who has been forgiven much loves much
So, what is God looking for?
This scripture does tell exactly what Jesus is looking for:
For all those things hath mine hand made,
and all those things have been, saith the Lord:
but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and trembleth at my word. Isaiah 66:2
The long and short of that is that all of His word,
the love He commands us for our fellow humans,
the looking to Him for strength,
the willingness to follow Him with your cross each and every day
Trembling at His word is all encompassing
Getting to the point where we really know God loves us
will be easier for some than others
Knowing that He really cares about each, intricate feeling you have,
that each of us are so on His radar, He’s listening, watching,
waiting to answer our prayers, waiting for us to reach out to Him,
to check with Him to make sure we’re doing it right,
waiting for us to rest our head on His chest,
to know we are loved and cared for and listened to
Cultivating your Relationship with God with utmost importance