Loving God

 LOVING GOD

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” - Matthew 22:37

Our society has gone overboard attaching labels to people they don't agree with. Many of these labels arise from hatred and ignorance. We hear labels like, “homophobic,” “bigot,” and “racist,” used liberally. Such labels are often inaccurate and misapplied.

Even in the church, we have labels to describe those who believe in Jesus. We use labels like, “Christian,” “brother,” “disciple,” or “follower,” to refer to someone who professes faith in Jesus. Yet there is a label that used to be popular that is rarely used these days. We used to describe a believer as, “a person who loves the Lord.” Think about that label. Is this label an accurate description of most church members these days? Do most church members love Jesus?

When John was commanded to write to the church at Ephesus in the book of Revelation, he was led to commend them for many things. In fact, we would be impressed if such a church existed today. Yet the Lord had a word of rebuke for the Ephesian church: “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” Perhaps the reason we no longer say that church members love the Lord today is because there is little evidence that they do love Him.

The real question is this: do YOU love the Lord? Is this reflected by the way you live and talk? Can others honestly refer to you as a person who loves the Lord?

The greatest commandment is to love the Lord. Yet this love is to be more than an outward show. Our love for Jesus should be more than a casual friendship. Jesus said that we should love the Lord, “...with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” This is more than a Sunday affection. It is an all-consuming passion for the King of Kings.

There are many reasons why such love is missing among church members these days. We tend to have a powerful love for Jesus when we are converted, but our love tends to fade as we fail to nourish our affection for Him. Furthermore, unconfessed sin weakens our love. Also, we tend to fellowship with others who also lack such passion, slowly becoming like them. After while, we tend to be rather judgmental about people who love Jesus and even suspicious them. We refer to them as religious fanatics.

Yet we are commanded to love the Lord. We often think that loving the Lord is for serious, mature Christians. However, loving the Lord should be a normal activity of the Christian faith. By the way, If we fail to obey the greatest commandment, wouldn't that be the greatest sin? Just something to think about.

There is a difference between liking the Lord and loving the Lord. You make appreciate what He's done and like many things about God. Yet that is not the same as loving Him. I believe that most church members like the Lord, but few love Him.

We need to get back to loving the Lord. This begins by remembering what He has done for us. Meditate about Calvary for a long time. Think about His incredible love for you. Remember that He not only declared His love for you, He demonstrated it at the cross of Calvary. When we remember His love for us, we begin to love Him in return. That's why John wrote, “... we love him because he first loved us.”

Secondly, we need to spend quality time with Him. To know Him is to love Him. Most people only focus on the blessings and never on the One who gave the blessings. The Bible tells us how Jesus visited two sisters in Bethany. While He was visiting, Martha was busy being a good hostess, but her sister, Mary, sat at Jesus' feet and listened to His word. Many of us are like Martha. We are too busy to enjoy our Lord. We need to be more like Mary. Tune out the world and simply sit at His feet, enjoy His presence, and soak in His teaching.

Third, we need to demonstrate our love for Him through our acts of service and obedience. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Many people are involved in church and ministry activities because it is expected of them. The best motive for service should because of our love and appreciation for the Lord.

Yes, it is refreshing to hear others refer to a Christian as, “a man who loves the Lord,” or “a woman who loves Jesus.”

Can this be said of you?