|
|
Do I Love God?
I asked a good friend to review the rough draft of my article, "Do You Love God?", and he responded with his story about loving God.
If you had asked me this question roughly 3 years ago, I would have said that I have never told fellow believers that I love God. In fact, I would have said that I don't recall ever telling God that I love Him. From the time I was a small child, I heard of the love that God has for us through sermon and song, but do I love God? I have been a Christian for many years but this question did not become real for me until 3 years ago.
One weekend I was channel surfing, unable to find anything of interest on the television. I finally decided to tune in to PBS since they usually aired good movies in the afternoon. It was mid-afternoon, so I had missed most of the film, but decided to continue watching. When I lived in Australia for a short time I became interested in British films and sitcoms – this was a film about the relationship between a father and his son and at one point in the film the son asked the father, "Do you love me?" A fairly benign question but for some reason, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I could not get this thought out of my mind.
I don't recall much of what happened in the remainder of the film, because for me, it was as though God had reached out and asked me that question. "Do you love me?" My mind was racing. My thoughts were, is it appropriate for me to tell God that I love Him? I've always felt that God was unapproachable on that level, someone "up there" who I can talk to but not necessarily in that way. Can I really do that? Would I be doing something wrong by telling God that I love Him? Does He want me to tell Him that I love Him? .... All these emotions went through me until I finally had the courage to speak aloud, "I love you, God". I either said, "I love you, God" or "I love you, Lord", or maybe both. I said it again, "I love you, God!" I then said it over and over, and each time it became easier and easier to say. I began to realize that "yes, it is okay to tell God that we love Him," so, I still tell God that I love him to this day. "I love you God!" And I know that God loves me.
For the first time I felt as though God was not only this all powerful creator of the universe – He is that, and much more, but He is also "our Father in Heaven." Just as we tell our spouse, children, parents and sibling that we love them, we tell our Father in Heaven that we love Him. Before that time, it never came to mind for me to do this, I'm very sorry to say. But I'm so glad that, for whatever reason I happened to flip to that channel and hear those words, "do you love me?", because my heart was receptive to what God wanted me to hear that day.
Shortly thereafter, I told a family member and a Christian friend about what happened. I've told a few others since – not as many as I should have. I want to tell even more people because for the first time I not only know that I can tell God that I love Him, but I feel love for Him. In my heart God is a part of me and I love Him. God is real to me and I know that I can count on Him just as I would anyone else that I love. Well, actually, even more so than anyone else because God is the creator of all things. J
To non-believers, and maybe even to some believers, this may sound very strange. But it is real and I would like to learn how to tell others how important it is that we love God and tell Him we love Him. By doing so, we are opening our lives up to God and interacting with Him on a much more personal level. This was the time I finally realized what a close personal relationship with God was all about. For years I had heard sermons, read books, or heard teachers talk about having a close personal relationship with God. But it stopped there. No one ever told me what that meant or how this relationship was established. How do we have a close personal relationship with God, the creator of all things? After this experience I recall hearing a sermon where the pastor commented on having a close personal relationship with God, and for the first time, I knew what he was talking about and I am grateful to God who has been teaching me about this more and more.
After telling God that I love Him, I began reading about God's love for us in His Word. I read the scriptures in John 21: 15-18 where Christ asks Peter 3 times if he loves Him, and each time Christ gives Peter a command to Feed His Lambs or His Sheep. And then there is another passage in John 14:5 where we are told that if we love God, we will obey His commands. In each of these verses God shows us that we can demonstrate our love for Him by caring for fellow believers and obeying His commands.
Consider the following. Think about those you truly love: your spouse, your children, your parents and siblings. Granted there are times when rivalries etc. erupt, but think about one person you truly love. Isn’t it a natural instinct to want to do things for this person? It’s not a chore. You do things for them and with them because you love them, not because you have to. Sometimes we think of missing out on things because we decide to turn our lives over to Christ. But if we truly love God, we want to do things for Him. And what we gain in return is so much more than we can imagine. We learn that the things we think we may be missing are the things that God knows are not good for us – the things that cause us to sin, which separates us from God. We learn that nothing separates us from the love of God, but continuing to sin can affect our relationship with Him.
I commented earlier about having a personal relationship with God and that no one ever tells you how to get there. Well, I believe one of the steps in building a relationship with God after accepting Christ as Savior and Lord of your life is to love God. Seek Him with all your heart. Ask God to show you through His Word what it means to love Him. Allow yourself to be loved by God. Like me, some may feel that God is not approachable on that level – but He is. And once you allow God to help you overcome the fear that is keeping you from saying those words, "I love you, God", you will begin the journey of building a relationship with God.
It’s all there in His Word. I also encourage others not to be discouraged when we learn that the more we may learn, the more we begin to understand that what we know only touches the surface. J I guess that’s the way it is sometimes. In all, I want to seek God with all my heart. My desire is to please Him by doing the things He wants me to do.
December, 2003
|
