Do you have a love for God?
Do you love God?
Some might respond to such a query with various comebacks:
“Which god am I supposed to love?” “Are there many gods? If so, which one is deserving of my love anyway?” “Why love a god? What did he/she/it do for me? Besides, I’m getting along OK without religion.” “Is it possible to equally love more than one god at a time?” “How can I love a deity, I’ve never seen?” No doubt, the first-century Greco-Roman culture faced these dilemmas. One of the empire’s major cities, Athens, had shrines to all kinds of deities. Then, in case they had mistakenly ignored one of the gods, they made an altar “to the unknown god” (Acts 17:23). Irritated by this rampant idolatry, Paul arrested the agnostics, declaring that God is one. What’s more, God revealed Himself as the Creator and Sustainer of all things and people. Furthermore, God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness, furnishing proof of this by Jesus’ resurrection from the dead (vv. 30-32).
Jesus was once asked, “Which is the greatest commandment in the law?” His answer laid out the foundation upon which any life is properly based. He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37-38). Comprehensively, a person’s entire being is to be sold out in devotion to the glory, honor, and service of God. Yet, the Lord did not say, “God,” but, notably, “Your God.” This commandment was first given to a people who had been miraculously delivered from slavery, oppressive bondage, and servitude to a cruel and unrelenting master. God – the very person who had saved them – gave this command. He was their God and they were to love Him. The Ten Commandments He gave to His ancient people began with this disclaimer, “I am the Lord your God who delivered you…you shall…” Love for God, therefore, begins with and must be daily nurtured by an awareness that one has been delivered from cruel bondage. The Exodus out of Egyptian slavery had a two-fold purpose, first to show the impotence of deities that amounted to nothing more than grotesque stone images. Secondly, by this great deliverance, God claimed ownership of His redeemed. Love for Him was naturally expected (Deut 10:12-13).
Christians have also been delivered from a cruel master – from the oppressive slavery of sin and Satan to the easy yoke of Christ (Matt 11:28-30). Love for God therefore begins with spiritual regeneration (Tit 3:5). Until one confesses, “Jesus as Lord,” he remains in his sin and cannot love God (Rom 10:9-10). But, being born again, the Christian understands that his very body belongs to God (1 Cor 6:18-20), and in worship, he yields his entire spirit, soul, and body to God (Rom 12:1-2; 1 Thess 5:23-24). By what parameters can we measure the depth of our love for the One who so loved us? First of all, we know we love God when our love for Him transcends all other desires. Nothing comes between the Christian and his Lord. All forms of fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness take a back seat to this first essential of life (Col 3:5; cf. Ex 20:3).
Second, love for God is expressed by a longing to gaze upon His beauty and enjoy fellowship with Him. David determined to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, to behold God’s beauty and inquire in His temple (Ps 27:4). Presently, the Lord’s temple is the church (1 Cor 3:16), the local assembly of believers His house (1 Tim 3:15). Those who love God love those who love Him – it’s that simple (Ps 16:3; 1 John 4:20).
Third, let us affirm that lovers of God rejoice in memorizing and meditating on His Word, and, like Jesus, they rise early to pray (Mark 1:35). They seek God with all their heart and hide Scripture within their hearts as a prevention against sin and temptation (Ps 119:10-11).
Fourth, those who love God always delight in doing His will, and regardless of how difficult it may be (Ps 40:8), their first prayer is “Hallowed by Your name…Your will be done” (Matt 6:9). Like Jesus, the Son who loved the Father, they have already settled in their hearts, “Not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
Fifth, let us also consider that a regard for God’s glory governs and motivates the soul that loves the Lord. Even the most mundane necessities of life, like eating and drinking, are done to glorify God (1 Cor 10:31). As it says in Proverbs 3:5-6, those who love God acknowledge Him in all their ways.
Sixth, and perhaps most difficult, if we love God, we will never be discouraged or frustrated by adverse circumstances because we are confident that God is working all things together for our good (Rom 8:28).
Finally, when we love God, we recognize His sovereignty in every event of our lives and consequently receive both success and failure from His hand (Job 2:10; 1 Sam 2:7; Ps 75:6-7). We are thereby content for we know that He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5).
This is God – so loved by Christians. To be sure, our love for Him is imperfect, but we nonetheless move on to greater expressions of love for the One who first loved us. “But why,” you may say, “should I love Him?” Because He laid down His life for you. Suffering divine wrath intended for you because of your sins, He died in your place on a cross. He then arose bodily from the dead, proving His power of death and life, and is now calling you to Himself – to a life of love, love for God, love for people, and, that by a love that will never let you go.
Scriptures to Memorize: John 14:15
Pastor Chandler, a graduate of The Master’s Seminary (MDiv/ThM), serves Victor Valley Bible Church at 16439 Hughes Road in Victorville. Join us for worship on Sunday mornings at 10:15. Please visit victorvalleybiblechurch.org, email the pastor at bibletrom@gmail.com, or see his Bible on Our Day broadcast on YouTube.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Do you have a love for God?
