Loving God

Mark 12:30a "Love the Lord your God..."

As soon as I begin to think about Loving God I am reminded of the passage in Mark 12 where we are exhorted to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. That is quite an assignment. You, I'm sure like me, surely believe this, but doing it is not easy as individuals. Certainly, He must come first. God is a righteously jealous God and deserves our undivided attention. When we put Him first in our hearts, souls, minds and strength, we must put everything else second. We should, each one, be putting Him first and make sure that He has the prominent position in our decisions and our schedule. If every person in the church family puts Him first and loves Him with all of his/her being, then the whole church family will find it easier to prioritize the Love of God.

For me, I am realizing that I must love God like I love no one else. After all, He is the only God and therefore must be loved uniquely. I have come up with three ways in which I can love God uniquely.

1. Through worship - I worship no one else!
2. Through prayer - I pray to no one else!
3. Through salvation - I am saved by no other!

When I consider loving God, I am reminded that He first loved me. I do not know how to love Him in any other way other than in response to His unconditional love for me. When God gave us the Ten Commandments, He was giving us a way to show our love for Him by obeying His commands.
Likewise, when God gave us Jesus, He was giving us a way to love Him by receiving salvation and obeying His commands. Here is an interesting three-part challenge for every person in our church family and for me too.

1. Do you love Him so much that in private you would be willing to get on your knees and worship Him personally?

2. Do you love Him so much that you would be willing to take the time to listen to Him speak to your heart after you have prayed, asking, "Lord, what would you say to me?"

3. Do you love God enough to consider actually doing it with your heart, mind, soul, and strength every day?

I pray that we will love God more. I believe we all have room for improvement; don't you?

In Him, Pastor Fred

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