Falling in Love...With Jesus

A Reflection on the Greatest Love We Will Ever Know

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A Moment That Stirred My Heart

This blog was inspired by one of my clients who said something so simple yet so powerful that it moved me to tears:

“I want to fall in love with Jesus.”

After years in counseling (and we’ll keep the exact number between the Lord and me), I’ve heard many things. But this… this was different.

There was something pure and sacred about that desire.

To fall in love with the Lover of our souls—what could be more beautiful? More priceless?

When we talk about “falling in love,” most of what we hear refers to horizontal relationships, romantic love between people.  Research shows that when someone is falling in love, several things happen: Dopamine increases (bringing pleasure and reward), Oxytocin builds trust and connection, Vasopressin supports attachment, and there are also noticeable shifts, such as thoughts becoming centered on that person. Sleep patterns and appetite may change, and emotions may feel intense, exciting, consuming, or even confusing. Love, in this sense, affects the mind, body, and emotions.

But what happens when we take that concept… and lift it higher? From horizontal to vertical love, what happens when love is no longer just human…but divine?

Falling in love with Jesus is not a one-time moment; it is a progressive relationship that extends to eternity.  Just like our transformation in Christ, our love for Him grows deeper over time, and just like any relationship, we want to spend time with Him, we want to know His heart, and to understand His ways.  But in this vertical relationship, we come to know more about Him through prayer, reading, and meditating on His Word, worship, and our intimate time of simply sitting in His presence.  And here’s the beautiful truth: The more we know Him… the more we love Him.

The love that changes everything. One of my favorite scriptures is:

Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

He gave Himself… knowing everything about us, and He still chose love.  All through the scriptures, His love is revealed to us in:

Ephesians 5:2

“Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us…”

1 John 4:9

“God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son…”

Romans 5:8

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 15:13

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

This love is different; it is not an ordinary love, it's God’s own agape love, that is unconditional, sacrificial, and never failing. 

In John 15:13, He calls us ‘friends’…Seeking Him, growing in Him, and falling in love with Jesus will change you deeply and completely.  There is a shift that begins to take place within you. Your desires start to change. You develop a genuine hunger for His presence. You become more sensitive to His voice, more aware of His leading, and one of the most powerful transformations is the way you begin to love others.  You begin to love with more grace, more patience, more compassion. You become more humble, more teachable, and more aligned with His heart.  This kind of love is divinely different.

It is not just emotional, it is spiritual, and not surface-level; it is transformational, from the inside out.  This is why I often say: No one who has truly encountered and experienced Jesus can remain the same. His love changes you.

You are no longer who you used to be, no longer bound, but free…no longer a victim, but more than a conqueror.  And just like Paul the Apostle, your story becomes one of transformation, not who you were, but whom you are becoming in Him.

My personal thank you to that very special client – the reminder of what it truly means to fall in love with Jesus. 

Personal invitation to you, let this be your heart’s desire: To fall in love with Jesus… over and over again.

Because truly—He does get “gooder and gooder.”

(And we’re keeping that just the way it is) lol

I’ll end with this, Psalm 34:8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.” His mercies are new every morning.

His love never fails. And the more you experience Him…The more you discover, this is the greatest love you will ever know.

What would it look like for you to intentionally pursue falling in love with Jesus this week?

Dr. D. Bates