Tara Hackney

Why did you start the ministry Jesus Loves?

The idea of encouraging people in the Lord—of cheering them along on their spiritual journey with Jesus has been a dream of mine for years. I love sharing what I’m learning with others and pointing people to God’s Holy Word, the Bible, as the source of truth. Knowing the love of Jesus has transformed my life in a way that’s impossible to measure and has given me a joyful hope that has strengthened me through all of my life’s trials. Simply put, I have discovered the treasure trove of Jesus’s love and want to share that treasure with others. 

When did you discover the “treasure trove of Jesus’s love”?

When I stopped resisting the Holy Spirit and read the whole Bible on my own from cover to cover, something awakened inside of me that made me feel alive. Though I had become a Christian when I was nine, I avoided reading the Bible for decades, thinking it would be dull or archaic, but instead, it turned out to be the substance my soul had been longing for. The Bible wasn’t just a book about Jesus, it was a way to be with Jesus. And once I started spending time with Jesus, I began to recognize His love was all around me. 

Is reading the whole Bible the only way to discover Jesus’s love? 

Of course not. God is greater than that and He speaks and interacts with His people in many marvelous ways. Throughout history, many devoted followers of Jesus have been illiterate or lacked access to a Bible. It’s not a magic formula or a secret portal to knowing the love of Jesus. But I can testify that I was a literate Christian with access to many Bibles for decades before I read it—and I was most definitely missing out. It was like I had walked into a grand cathedral but decided to stay in the lobby for 20 years. Unimaginable wonders awaited just beyond the doors to the sanctuary, but I resisted walking through them. 

Why were you so resistant to reading the Bible? 

I think on some level I knew it would change me and that scared me. I was comfortable in the lobby of the cathedral because it was in between the world and the sanctuary. I liked having access to both, but wholehearted commitment to neither. As it turns out though, Jesus didn’t save me so I could spend my life sitting in a lobby. He came so that I might have life and have it to the full. (John 10:10) Reading the Bible did change me, but I had nothing to fear. Ironically, the treasure trove of Jesus’s love that I discovered by reading it is what began casting out my fears. (1 John 4:18)

What are your favorite Bible passages?

Since the Bible is best understood as a continuous story, all the passages are important. But these are a few chapters I return to time and time again.