Friday, July 14, 2017, 7:47 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “My Jesus, I Love Thee.” Speak, Lord,
your words to my heart. I read several scriptures (in the ESV) on the subject
of Love for God.
Keep His Commandments (Jn. 14:15, 21, 23-24; 1 Jn. 5:2-3)
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who
loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to
him.” “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me
does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's
who sent me.”
“By this we know that we love the children of God,
when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that
we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”
Love for God is not some
emotional feeling, or a religious belief or practice. It is not, in and of
itself, singing praise and worship songs in a worship service with hands
lifted, although if done sincerely, and in truth, this truly is part of how we
express our love for God. It is also not merely confessing him as Lord and as Savior
of our lives, or going to gatherings of the church, or serving in some ministry
capacity within the local fellowship of believers. For, it is possible to do
all of these and still not have love for God.
Love for God is to do what he
says. If we do not make it our practice to do what our Lord says, i.e. to obey
his Word, then we don’t really love him. Yet, we are not speaking here merely
of keeping the 10 commandments, although not one of us could keep them perfectly,
otherwise Christ would not have had to die for our sins. Obeying God is not
just keeping a list of rules, but it is listening to him day by day, following
his lead, doing what he tells us through his Spirit, and obeying his
instructions to us, which are written down for those of us who believe in Jesus
Christ, in his Holy Word.
More Than These
(Jn. 21:15; 1 Jn. 2:15; 1 Jn. 3:10)
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon
Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him,
“Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If
anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
“By this it is evident who are the children of God,
and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness
is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
Love for God is to make him
first priority in our lives, but not just that, but to make him truly Lord
(owner-master) of our lives. We should love him above all else, which means we
should follow him wherever he leads us, even if it means leaving all else behind,
including our friends and family. Nothing should be more important to us than
obeying our Lord, going where he sends us, and doing what he has called us to
do. We should obey him, even if everyone else rejects us, hates us, and
abandons us, too.
This also translates to not
loving the world (sin, worldliness) with the kind of love we should have for
God. In other words, we should not take pleasure in, long for, or esteem the values,
morals, philosophies, attitudes or behaviors of the ungodly world. We should
not prefer what the world prefers, either. We should not pattern our lives
after the ways or the will of the world, as well. We ought not to submit to the
culture of our society or to immerse (engross) ourselves in it. Included in
this is that we should not be entertained by the world of sin and its values,
morals and wickedness, too.
Obeying God results in
practicing righteousness. And, righteousness is what God approves, what is
deemed right by the Lord, and what is approved in his sight (1). If we do not
practice (follow, live out) divine righteousness, then we are not of God. Basically,
if we walk (in practice) according to our fleshly desires, we don’t know God,
we don’t have the hope of eternal life with God, and we will perish in our
sins. But, if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, we
will live with Christ for eternity (See: Ro. 6:1-23; Ro. 8:1-14; Lu. 9:23-25; Gal.
5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-6).
Love In Truth
(1 Jn. 3:18; 1 Jn. 4:19-20; 1 Jn. 1:5-7)
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but
in deed and in truth.”
“We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I
love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his
brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.’”
“This is the message we have heard from him and
proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at
all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we
lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Some people say they love
God, but it is lip service only, for their hearts are far from God, they do not
do what he says, nor do they submit to him and to his will for their lives.
They can get all emotional in a church service, especially as the music gets
louder and more intense, and is repeated over and over again, but then they
leave, go home, and live just like the world (the ungodly). We can mouth the
words “I love you,” but if we are going our own way, living in spiritual
adultery and idolatry, and we are not submitting ourselves to our Lord and to
his cross, then we don’t really love him. True love, whether between two people
or between people and God is not words only, but it is action and it is honest
and sincere (not superficial).
If we say we love God, but we
don’t love other humans, then we don’t really love God, for God is love, and he
lives within those of us who are truly his. And, again, this love is not emotional
feelings, but it is action and it is truth. For instance, if a man or a woman
cheats on his or her spouse, then lies about it, but then proclaims that he or
she loves the other, he or she is a liar. The same applies to our love for God.
If we say we love God, but we go after “other lovers,” i.e. worldliness,
wickedness, and selfishness, and then we lie to God and to ourselves, and we
convince ourselves that God is ok with us living in adultery against him,
because of his grace, then that is not love, either, for God or for our fellow
human beings.
If we keep on (practicing)
sinning, we don’t know God, and we don’t have the promise of eternal life with
God (Jn. 8:34; 1 Jn. 3:6-9; 1 Jn. 5:18). But, if we walk (in lifestyle, in
conduct) in the light (truth, righteousness), and according to the Spirit of
God, not only do we have true spiritual fellowship with other believers in
Jesus, but the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross for our sins, cleanses us from
all sin. So, if truly we want to love God and know God, then we need to walk in
his love, do what he says, follow him where he leads, and surrender to his will
for our lives.
My Jesus, I Love Thee
William R. Featherstone / Adoniram J.
Gordon
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art
mine;
For thee all the follies of sin I
resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art
thou;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
I love thee because thou hast first
loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's
tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on
thy brow;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love
Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest
me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold
on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis
now.
In mansions of glory and endless
delight;
I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on
my brow;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
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