Loving God - Part One

"God is love ". (1 John 4:8) Where would any of us be without God's love?! If God didn't love us, He wouldn't have sent Jesus to die for us. In the first days of man, there was direct communication between God and humans, but when humans betrayed that privilege and brought sin into the world, we lost that intimacy. God could have destroyed it and created a new and better  place, but He didn't because He loves us. When we brought adultery, murder, thieving, abuse, blasphemy and pain, He could have destroyed it all! But He didn't, because He loves us. Humanity has fallen far from where God intended us to be. We have let Him down generation after generation, but He continues to love us! 

Have you ever heard the song Christ In Me by Casting Crowns? There are two lines that I love! 

"How refreshing to know You don't need me, 

How amazing to find that You want me..."

Have you ever really just sat down and thought about how great God's love actually is? Has it ever occurred to you that He doesn't need us? He chooses to love us. GOD WANTS US!! THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE WANTS YOU!! Not to add to His 'collection of followers', but to have a relationship with the children he created. It's a magnificent love!! An unconditional love!! A love we can't even comprehend!! 

What does the Bible say about loving God? 

Taleisha: Scripture says to, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5 and again in Luke 10:27) Why doesn't it just say to love God with everything? Because God wants us to love Him with every part of us. Our hearts are secret and only you and God know what is in there. In order to love Him with all our hearts we need to remove all sin from it, cleanse it, fill it with pureness and love so that the Holy Spirit may dwell within us. With our souls means our entire being and existence  We exist for God and His purpose so we need to serve Him with every thing we are made of. Our strength refers to our physical body, with everything we are capable of doing, we need to do it for the purpose of God and serve Him through our actions and everything we put our hands to. There are many Scriptures that talk about loving God, here are some more: Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalm 85:15, Psalm 136:26, John 13:34-35, Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:4-5. 

Meggie: Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment." - Matthew 22:36-40
This is a similar verse recounting the same situation that Taleisha also said, but I just want to draw your attention to the fact that Jesus said 'this is the first and greatest commandment'. Falling in love with God isn't just a maybe. Jesus said it is the first thing we should be doing. We have talked about loving others, but before we can ever love others, we need to focus on loving God. I think we forget the importance of it! Of all the things your doing in your Christian faith, is loving God your top priority?

So what can we do for God? How can we thank Him for His unfailing love? Find out in Loving God - Part Two  on Monday!! 

Love and Blessings! 

~ Taleisha & Meggie