Monday, February 7, 2011

What Does Your Love for God Look Like?

Study Passages: John 6:44; Romans 3:11, Luke 12:22-36, Hebrews 1:3, Matthew 22:36-40, John 13:34-35, John 14:15

Are you in love with Christ or is He simply your insurance to get into heaven? Do you turn to Jesus for help in your time of need or is simply an afterthought, someone to turn to when all else fails?

Anything or anyone that has won our heart controls or, at the very least, has tremendous influence over our will. For example, if we love money we will work overtime in a heartbeat. If money drives us, we may even play the lottery, secretly or openly.

When we love something, it also influences our time. If we love football then we often spend hours in front of the television every Sunday watching game after game. We won’t even check the time on our watch unless it’s to see when the next game starts. The high cost of a ticket won’t faze us because we will spend whatever is necessary to get the best seat.

While watching the news the other day, a commercial came on that showed a man who went to all the Super Bowl games. He said he missed special moments in his life, such as babies being born, birthdays of family members, and anniversary celebrations. He loves the game so much that it did not matter where the game was, what was going on personally or how much the ticket cost; he was going to be at every Super Bowl game.

You might view him as an extreme, but the reality is people do not mind spending money or going through a challenge for something they love. We always find a reason to legitimize why we need to spend and sacrifice more for the things we love.

How does our love for God look when we express it? There is no question He loves us. He drew us to Himself to be saved (John 6:44; Romans 3:11), He provides for us daily (Luke 12:22-36), He sustains everything through His Word so we can function day by day (Hebrews 1:3), He died for each believer (John 3:16), He intercedes for each believer (Romans 8:26) and He provides each believer a place after death (John 14:2-3).

How does our love for Him express itself? He said love should lead to us to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40), love each other (John 13:34-35), it should lead believers to abide in His Word (John 14:15), and it would lead us to worship Him and serve Him.

When our words say we love God, do our actions say the same?

4 comments:

  1. I printed this so I may study it out tonite. Thank you.

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  2. I'm going to do the same. I want to study these passages before commenting. Great question!!

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  3. Perfect timing! I've been asking myself a similar question... I definitely want a deeper love relationship with God! I want to be sure that I am putting Him first and staying in His will.

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  4. I am so pleased that you find this question a benefit and perhaps even a challenge. I pray that you meditate on it, seek God, and then make a change. I am praying for you!

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