Falling in Love with Jesus (Aviela Groder)

Do you ever get overwhelmed with the perfect love of Jesus?

I’m often reminded: Jesus really loves me. Not a surface-level love. Not a “when I’m doing everything right” love. But a love that is deep, intentional, and steady. A love that existed before I ever knew how to recognize it.

His love feels so real and it’s hard to understand how someone could love so purely. Jesus isn’t loving me out of obligation. He’s not loving me because He’s waiting for me to “earn it.” He loves me because it’s who He is. God is Love. And when you really let that truth sink in, it changes everything.

For a long time, I thought the main point of following Jesus was simply being loved by Him. And that’s true. But what took me a while to understand, is that I get to love Him back.

Not in a forced way. Not in a religious, performative way. But in a real way. In the way you love someone when you actually know them. And He is most certainly worthy of all my love.

That realization changed my whole relationship with Him.

See, I grew up knowing about Jesus. I knew the church routine. I knew the language. I knew the basics. I knew what I was “supposed” to do. But knowing about Him and knowing Him are two completely different things. 

Eventually,  I realized that I didn’t want to live a life where Jesus wasn’t at the center of my heart. When I admitted that, I realized that Jesus was inviting me into something so personal, intentional and beautiful.

Looking back, I can see how patient He has been with me. It’s been a process to not just “believe in Him,” but to actually love Him. It’s not always instant. It’s not always dramatic. Sometimes it’s slow and quiet. It’s built through trust. Through surrender. Through grace.

For years, I had to learn just how deep His love was for me. And honestly, I think that’s where most of us start. We have to start with learning how loved we are. We receive that truth. Then we can learn how we have been called to love Him as our Father, friend and savior.

When I found my identity in Christ, I realized I didn’t just need to learn how to be loved. I needed to learn how to love Him back. And while that might sound simple, it actually challenged me.

Turns out, loving Jesus back isn’t just a feeling. It’s not just a moment in worship where everything feels emotional and sweet. Loving Jesus back becomes a choice. A lifestyle. Shifting what matters most to you.

It becomes waking up and saying, “Jesus, You’re not just part of my life. You are my life.”

It’s choosing Him when distractions are louder. When emotions are messy. When obedience costs something. When no one else sees it.

The past two years of my life have truly been a journey. There were seasons where I felt close to Him and seasons where I felt like I was learning how to find Him again. As I kept showing up, my heart started to change. I started to realize that Jesus wasn’t just someone I ran to when I was hurting. He became the One I wanted even when life was good. Jesus has become my one thing.

There are so many things in this world that try to compete for our attention and affection. That wants to be our main focus. And not all of them are “bad.” Some are just distracting, loud, or constantly demanding our energy.

But I had to be honest with myself because there were things pulling my gaze away from Him. I had to turn my eyes from the things in this world and shift my focus back to His heart. The more I looked at Him, the less appealing the distractions became. The more I stayed close to Him, the more I realized that the satisfaction I was looking for in other places was something only He could give me.

I found peace, wholeness, purpose. But most importantly, I found a perfect love that will never leave. He was just waiting for me to come to Him all along. And now He is inviting me to step into every good thing HE has for me.

When I think about the Lord, I think about His holiness. His power. His majesty. His greatness. And yet, He wants me. Not because He needs me, but because He wants a relationship. He was waiting for me to love Him so that this could be a relationship. Not just a one-sided experience. But a real relationship where I choose Him first. 

That’s the invitation for all of us.

If you’re in a similar season, trust that He’ll lead you back to His heart. The more you seek His face and know His heart, the more you’ll realize that loving Jesus isn’t something you have to force.

It becomes the most natural response to the One who has loved you perfectly from the beginning.

When you finally realize how deeply you’re loved… you can’t help but fall in love with Him.

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A little bit about Aviela...

I'm a recent high school graduate passionate about health and wellness, and I love investing in my community. My favorite activities include worship, cooking, babysitting, writing poetry, and going on walks. I’m especially inspired by Esther from the Bible—her story encourages me to faithfully follow God’s path, even when it’s challenging.