Tag Archives: Love Your Neighbor

Freedom From Cannibalism

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Biting One Another

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church of Galatia, he wrote: “But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another” (Gal. 5:15). In the context of this letter, Paul’s main theme is “freedom.” The genuine follower of Jesus Christ is set free from their previous bondage to the flesh! We are free from the slavery of capitulating to the demands of our broken and depraved natures. No longer does sin have power over us! Jesus, upon His ascension to the Father, sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us and empower us with the ability to say “no” to sin’s demands!

Called To Be Free

So Paul the Apostle tells this church: “Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery… For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal. 5:1, 13–14). The essence of Paul’s words is this—the Gospel of Jesus Christ sets us free from Christian cannibalism! It is only Jesus’ Gospel that empowers us to love others like this! When our love for others grows in this way, it’s a powerful endorsement of the validity of our words when we share our faith. Conversely, it is a blatant and ugly contradiction of Jesus’ Gospel when we “…bite and devour one another…” (v. 15).

Preying Like Cannibals

When we prey on one another like cannibals, we sabotage the glory of Jesus’ cross! We cover up the beauty of Christ, who gave Himself up in payment for our self-centeredness! I saw the ugliness of Christian cannibalism played out as a Bible college student, when half the church I was attending walked out on the other half over the color choice of the ladies’ restroom during a building program. Their testimony in that rural community was ruined! I saw it happen! Oh, how we need the Spirit’s help to learn how to deal with conflict in a way that’s redemptive rather than destructive! A church that does not serve one another in love like Jesus will cannibalize itself! We can only love like Jesus if we’ve been set free by the power of His Gospel! God can and does deliver churches from Christian cannibalism!

Overcoming The Past

Only the Gospel of Christ can deliver our churches from such ungodly behavior! Some of you have experienced a church that devoured itself. You still struggle with the pain. It’s still raw. And you are broken at the thought that some unbelievers will never come to faith in Jesus Christ because of the relational damage they’ve seen inflicted on others by so-called Christians. And don’t forget to praise God if you’re part of a community of faith that truly loves, honors, and respects one another! That is truly a work of God! Be encouraged and pray regularly for continued peace and harmony in your church. Pray daily for spiritual renewal and revival. And remember that it’s the Gospel of Christ that frees us to be Jesus to everyone we meet!
 

Free To Serve Others

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A Dog Eat Dog World

In the world, it’s “dog-eat-dog.” If you want to climb up the corporate ladder, you have to be a relational piranha—taking advantage of the brokenness and inconsistencies of your co-workers to gain a personal advantage! That’s not Jesus’ way! He was known as the “friend of sinners.” He healed the wounded! He forgave even those who nailed Him to the cross! The Gospel frees us to serve—even those with whom we may be in competition for that promotion! And it’s all because we can trust a sovereign God’s plan!

Our Freedom And Our Calling

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatian church, he says that our call to freedom and our call to serve are synonymous! In other words, we actually lose our freedom when we fail to serve! We were saved from slavery to sin and self; so when we fail to serve—and even expect to be served—we fall back into the old slavery to the flesh! He says we, “…submit again to a yoke of slavery…” (Galatians 5:1). Don’t surrender the freedom you have in Christ—who satisfies your every need—for the fleshly desires of the world: to be served or to be promoted! When we serve others instead of using them, we testify to the world that Jesus truly is enough! He is all we need!

Jesus Served Us

We don’t need to fill any emptiness inside us with the need to be served! Jesus served us, and that’s enough! It’s the Gospel of Christ that frees us to love others…even strangers! More than service, the Gospel actually gives us a heart of love for those we serve—“For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14). Paul is quoting Jesus’ answer when He was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” And Jesus said, “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your might! And the second is like it (or second only in importance!): Love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself” (Matthew 22:34–40). Then Jesus illustrated that with His parable about the Good Samaritan, who acted as a neighbor to someone he didn’t even know! That’s why a “neighbor” can actually be anyone we have the opportunity to serve—even someone who’s a stranger! “And love them,” He said, “in the same way that you love yourself.”

Gospel Freedom

Only the Gospel sets me free to want to feed someone who’s hungry just as much as I want to feed myself when I get hungry! Only the Gospel sets me free to want to help my neighbor find a job just as much as I want to find a job—or to want a raise or a promotion for my co-worker just as much as I want that raise or promotion for myself! And to care about what happens to that guy down the street—that you don’t even know—just as much as you care about what happens to you! That’s powerful! And only Jesus’ Gospel empowers us to love that way! And when we grow in our love for others like that, it’s an incredible endorsement of the validity of the words we share with others about our faith! It makes us real! Genuine!

Jesus In The Flesh

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Do We Look Like Him?

In a conversation one of our church family members had with someone who was struggling to understand and accept the Gospel, she said to them, “I just need to see Jesus in the flesh!” She meant by that that she needed to see what it looked like for someone claiming to be a follower of Jesus to actually live it. That’s a powerful statement! And the Gospel of Christ actually frees us to be “Jesus in the flesh” to everyone we encounter.

It’s A Radical Transformation

When we truly humble ourselves before God and submit to Him, Jesus moves into our lives—by the power of His Holy Spirit—and radically begins to transform us in every way, including our relationships. We can actually become Jesus to everyone we meet. Let me explain. When humanity, in Adam, sinned, it was a complete breakdown of our ability to image God. We were broken! Because of our fallen nature, we are born into this world with an inability to love like God loves. So we hate others. We lash out. We become self-absorbed. We use people for what they can do for us. That’s our default condition at birth.

Everything Changes In Jesus

But when the Gospel of Christ is introduced to us and accepted, everything changes. Just read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John’s accounts of Jesus’ life and marvel at the way He loves—even His enemies! And we are transformed into His image as we dwell in His presence through the written Word. The Apostle Paul described it like this when he wrote to the church of Corinth: “We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). By the power of the Gospel, we see God’s glory—in Jesus—and we are transformed into that same image from one glory to another.

Re-Imaged Into Jesus

We are being “re-imaged” into Jesus! We need to hear this. Far too often, the interpersonal relationships within the body look no different than the relationships among unbelievers. And I submit to you that this plays a huge part in the overall ineffectiveness of the Western church when it comes to making disciples and attracting people to the church. So how do we change this? How can this trend be reversed?

Jesus’ New Command

Jesus told His disciples, “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34–35). As He transforms us to love others in the same way He loves us, the world will know we belong to Jesus! They’ll know we love Jesus because we love them! Here’s what I believe God wants us to do about this: He wants us to repent over our broken relationships. To repent literally means “to change your mind.” So God wants us to change our minds about our broken relationships. We used to think they were okay, but they’re not okay. We need Him to fix them so the world can see Jesus in us.
 

Don’t Eat Each Other

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Leaving For Vacation; Next Post February 4th

Not All Cannibals Are Alike

Did you know that not all cannibals are alike? An “exo-cannibal” eats only those outside his immediate social circle (i.e., his “enemies”), while an “endo-cannibal” eats those within his immediate social circle (i.e., his “friends”). But a “pan-cannibal” is indiscriminate and will eat anyone! Bet you didn’t know that! You probably thought that all cannibals were alike! Let me share a true story with you. The world’s most infamous cannibal was the legendary Fijian chieftain, Ratu Udre Udre.

A Guinness World Record

Listen to this—he actually holds the Guinness World Record for eating the most people! I was personally surprised to discover that Guinness actually kept such a record! Ratu Udre Udre ate between 872 and 999 people, according to his son—whom he did not eat! (Guess that made him a “good father.”) Ratu Udre Udre kept a stone for each body he ate. Now, unfortunately, many Christians have more in common with Udre Udre than you might think because many Christians “eat” their own. You might say they’re “church cannibals,” and Paul’s letter to the church of Galatia bears that out. His fifth chapter begins like this: “Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). That’s the “good news” of the Gospel! We’re born into this world with a yoke of slavery around our necks, and we can try with all our might to get out from under our sin; but we’re incapable. Jesus liberates us by His atonement for sin on the cross. He liberates us from the penalty and power of sin over our lives.

Don’t Devour One Another

So “stand firm,” Paul says, “don’t submit to that old yoke of slavery again!” Continuing in that context, he speaks to the Gospel’s power to affect our relationships with people. We’re no longer enslaved to the world’s way of “devouring” one another—or hating one another and holding grudges. That’s what Paul says a little later in the same chapter: “For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another” (Gal. 5:13–15).

Are You Drinking Poison?

Someone has accurately stated that “unforgiveness is the poison you drink, hoping it will kill someone else!” In this Scripture, Paul is reminding this local church that the Gospel sets us free from those kinds of toxic relationships. The Gospel of Christ frees us to be Jesus to everyone we meet! When we truly humble ourselves before God and submit to Him, Jesus moves us—by the power of His Holy Spirit—and radically begins to transform us in every way, including our relationships. When humanity sinned in Adam, it resulted in a complete breakdown of our ability to “image” God, the Father and our Creator. We’re broken! We’re all born into this world with an inability to love like God loves because of our inherited fallen nature. Only a conversion to Christ can change us! We’ll pick it up there at our next post!
 

Is Every Believer A Disciple?

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What Does Scripture Teach?

The Church, here in the West, has often made a distinction between a “believer” in Jesus Christ and a “disciple” of Jesus Christ. It’s a distinction, however, that Scripture fails to make—that you can be a saved “believer” and live your entire life for yourself. That, if you desire, you can become a “disciple” and live out your days as a “super saint” for Jesus. Nowhere in Scripture does Jesus say anything even close to that. If you abide in Jesus, you will produce the fruit of a disciple. That’s the outcome of genuine faith.

Grape Vines Produce Grapes

There will always be fruit where there is genuine faith. It’s as natural as a grapevine producing grapes. That’s what grapevines do. And there is fruit that is naturally produced by God’s Spirit in the life of every genuine believer who abides in Jesus. In fact, that’s exactly what Jesus says. Fruitfulness is the proof that you’re a “believer” and a “disciple.” “If anyone does not abide in Me,” Jesus said, “he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:6–8). We bring glory to God when our lives produce fruit because it proves that He’s saved us. The proof is in the fruit.

Love, Joy & Obedience

Then Jesus expands on that in the next several verses (vv. 9–17). Fruitfulness, He says, is measured by our love, our obedience, and our joy. “This is My commandment,” Jesus said, “that you love one another as I have loved you.” Loving others isn’t an option for anyone claiming to be a follower of Jesus. If there’s no love, it’s because there is no spiritual life. Where there’s no love, there’s no “abiding in Jesus.” “You are My friends,” He said, “if you do what I command you.” We cannot pick and choose what we’re going to obey in God’s Word. Disobedience isn’t an option. If we truly abide in Christ, we’ll repent when we disobey and realign our lives accordingly with the Scriptures. And there will be joy in your life—“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” Our joy is linked to a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s not circumstantial.

Even When Life Is Hard

Abiding in Christ produces joy. Even when the rest of life derails, our joy is centered in Jesus. All those grumpy, mean-spirited haters out there who claim to be followers of Jesus must have missed that Scripture—or they don’t really abide in Christ. This text presents a clear case that God the Father won’t stand idle while His children act up. He will prune: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2). He will discipline His own. He will spank. But He doesn’t spank the devil’s kids. Our response to His discipline will either confirm or deny that our “faith” is legitimate. We will confess sin and let His Spirit clean house.

Praying About Temptations

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How Did Jesus Teach Us To Pray?

Let me challenge you to take a good, long look at your prayers! Are your prayers consumed with requests? Little more than sending God a grocery list of items you want Him to do for you! If so, you need to spend some time meditating on Jesus’ response to His disciples when they approached Him: “Lord, teach us to pray!” (Matthew 6:5-13) They found a deficiency in their prayer life; so, they sought Jesus’ counsel to improve it! One of the last things He teaches them to pray about is “temptation”— “And do not bring us into temptation.”

A Warning About Being In The World

Up until this point, in Jesus’ counsel about prayer, His focus had been on praying over our relationships with God and the people around us. Now, He teaches us to pray about going out into the world, where He’s called us to make disciples; but, there’s a bit of a warning! We need to pray— “Lord, as we go into the world to advance Your kingdom, we need Your strength to help us be IN the world and not OF it!” We will face some spiritual warfare as we advance against Satan’s kingdom! There is an evil one who wants to take us down! We need to pray for the Spirit’s strength to withstand him; so, we pray for the Father’s guidance.

A Prime Motivation For Prayer

Overcoming sin and evil should be a prime motivation in our prayers! Are your prayers motivated by a desire to walk deliberately with your God? To love Him with a desire to keep His commandments? Test yourself! Are your prayers centered on the STUFF you want, or on Holy Spirit help to beat sin? Finally, Jesus adds these words, in His counsel to His disciples, about prayer: “…deliver us from the evil one…” (v.13) Earlier, in His ministry, Jesus had taught them that “…the evil one comes only to steal and to kill…” (John 10:10). He wants to steal your joy in the Lord and your love for God and others! He wants to kill your effectiveness as a disciple! And we don’t have the strength in ourselves to stand against him! We’re no match for Satan. So, Jesus is teaching us— as His disciples— to humble ourselves by praying for the Father’s protection from evil! To pray that He would deliver us from Satan! And, from falling back into sin! To stand firm and finish strong despite persecution, if we should face that kind of resistance.

Don’t Try To Counsel God

As I bring this series of posts on Jesus’ “model” prayer to a close, let me remind you never to pray like you’re trying to be God’s counselor! Never pray like you’re trying to convince God that YOU know the best way to run His kingdom! Clearly, Jesus leaves no room in His counsel on prayer for us to make prayer about what we think God should do. He’s far too wise! We’re far too ignorant of the details of His work in the world. He is an omniscient God—in other words, He knows EVERYTHING! That means He’s already considered anything you might try to convince Him to do! He may answer in the affirmative! Or, He may answer negatively! And if He does, it’s because He knows the “end from the beginning” and has the best reasons to make the wisest decision! Let us learn to pray with humility, trusting God’s answers always!
 

Honoring Jesus With Our Gender

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The Culture Doesn’t Get It

We honor Jesus in our hearts when we obey Him with our lifestyles. And by our obedient lifestyle, we create curiosity. The answer the culture is giving about our sexual identity isn’t working—and it never will. But when we live sexually in obedience to God’s Word, we earn the right to share it when the world gets curious—to share with them the Gospel and God’s purpose for gender. This is difficult subject matter! It’s layered with lots of abuse and painful injuries dating all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and it’s just not easy to jump into without laying a foundation of understanding, empathy, and love.

Say It With Empathy & Love

And that is what the world needs from us: understanding, empathy, and love. It’s simply not helpful when, instead, we offer them self-righteous judgment and vindictiveness. So, let me try to unpack some of the main points from the first two chapters of Genesis—especially as it relates to gender and sexual identity. We need to take note of some of the implications it has for our homes, our families, and how it plays into our child-rearing. Keep in mind, from an interpretive standpoint of the text, that Genesis chapter 1 presents the “big picture” of God’s creative act, and chapter 2 fills in the details. Chapter 1 is like the Super Bowl headlines the day after—“Patriots Win the Most Boring Super Bowl Ever”—and chapter 2 is like the story that fills in the details of how the Patriots pummeled the Rams into submission.

What Shapes Our Opinions?

Let’s also remember the most important detail as followers of Jesus Christ: when determining our roles as men and women, God’s Word must shape our opinions—not the culture! And perhaps the most significant point of the text is that God created humanity to reflect His image: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth’” (Genesis 1:26). God created humanity to function as His living image over the creation. And I believe it’s correct to interpret “man” here as “mankind,” including both man and woman. I believe the next verse bears that out—God created humanity to bear His image as male and female.

God Created Maleness & Femaleness

The text says:  “So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female” (Genesis 1:27).  Our “maleness” and our “femaleness” are essential parts of being God’s image-bearers. Somehow—and I don’t want to get weird here—but somehow it seems that God is saying it was in the complementing or the completing of the man with the creation of woman that humanity was created in the image of God. That image wasn’t clear or evident until woman complemented God’s creation of man. So here’s my plea: Men and women—we need each other to correctly image God in His creation! When we grasp the significance of that, we’ll begin to glory in both manhood and womanhood. Together, we are God’s intentional design of human diversity!
 

Determining Gender Roles

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The Culture Is Broken

Our culture is broken! Have you noticed that? It’s broken because it’s made up of broken people who are born into this world totally depraved and separated from God because of their sin! Only the Gospel of Christ can adequately and accurately direct us to solutions that restore our homes and our communities! Our broken culture can’t help us! When determining our roles as men and women, God’s Word must shape our opinions, not the culture!

The Original Design

God’s original design, at Creation, can be found in Genesis, the book of beginnings! After creating Adam, “…the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.’” (Genesis 2:18) So, God designed the woman to “complement” the man— not “compliment” (as in, “Why, Adam, what a handsome, rugged man you are”)—but to “complement” or “complete” him. Yes! That means that the man was NOT complete by himself! Eve was his “completer”; and, by implication, she was also made complete by Adam! Adam and Eve, man and woman, were created and designed by God to “complement” and “complete” one another… NOT to compete!

Happiness & Fulfillment Realized

The way that men and women find genuine happiness and fulfillment is in owning the identity given to them by God, their designer! The culture is WRONG! Ladies: You will not find meaning in your life by becoming more manly and aggressive! And, men: You will not find meaning in your life by becoming more passive, effeminate, and unsure of yourself! And, for the same reason we needed to shed the ethnic jokes, we need to quit making fun of those who’ve become so twisted in their logic that they think the answer is in self-mutilation—removing the sexual organs they were created with and adding sexual prosthetic organs.

Anger With Their Creator

How sad! Their gripe is ultimately with their Creator! They’ve fallen into the same trap as Adam and Eve in the garden, when the tempter convinced them that life would be so much better if they could be their own god! Somehow, he convinced them that an all-wise God didn’t know what He was doing when He created them! So, how’s that working out? Not very well for the human race! We’ve never been more confused!

God, Help Us Love The Broken

The Apostle Paul asks, “But who are you, a mere man, to talk back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” (Romans 9:20) And yet, that’s exactly what we do when we fight God on the way He designed us! If you’re a follower of Jesus, let me challenge you to love the broken world of people we’re surrounded by! Jesus wept over people! He saw them as sheep without a Shepherd! We won’t win the culture wars by arguing and shouting down those who disagree with us on this issue! We won’t win with our rants on Facebook or Twitter or the blogosphere! When we’re quoting 1 Peter 3:15, “…always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” don’t forget the rest of it: “…however, do so with gentleness and respect…”
 

desig

The Problem With Loving God

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What Does That Kind Of Love Look Like?

Through the years, I have met many people who claim that they love God, and I’ve asked them what that looks like. What does it look like to love God? How would you answer that question? In Mark’s gospel, chapter 12, Jesus said, “…Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” In fact, Jesus says that to love God personally is the most important command! But there’s a second point to draw from His words—we’re called “…to love God WITH ALL WE HAVE.”  Therein lies the problem with loving God! How can we love God with all we have, and again, what does that kind of love look like?

Love That’s All-Inclusive

Four times He uses the word “all,” which literally means “the whole.” In other words, Jesus is saying that genuine love for God has to be “all in.” We can’t love Him half-heartedly, or we’re a liar! Real love for God is comprehensive! It’s all-inclusive! There’s no area of our life that can be left out! We love Him with “…our whole heart…” So, our heart is devoted to Him. There’s no pretense! No hypocrisy! We can’t say we love Him and live our life like He doesn’t exist! We don’t ignore those we truly love, do we? And then Jesus says that to love God with all we have—or to be “all in”—is to love Him “…with all your soul…” Our soul is the seat of our emotions. He gave us emotions so we could love Him and worship Him.

Get Emotional About God

So, love Him and worship Him deeply! Get emotional over Him! Desire Him! You ought to be concerned if you can get all emotional over an animal, or a Hallmark Christmas movie, or a football game, but have no emotions for God! Is that kind of love and faith even genuine? Jesus also says that to love God with all you have is to love Him “…with all your mind…” So, while we love Him with our emotions, it’s not mindless emotion! We think about Him, and we submit our thinking to Him! We love Him because we’ve considered Him. We’ve meditated on Him, and we’ve made a conscious decision to love Him because we really know Him. We know His infinite worth

Love God With All Your Strength

Finally, Jesus says to “…love God with all your strength.” That is the best we have! We’re to love Him out of our strength, not our leftovers! This word relates to our physical being. We love Him in our actions—with our hands and our feet! If our love for God is genuine, we’ll serve Him and others with a passionate energy—with our strength! As I worked through this passage, I was moved—I believe by His Spirit—to ask myself the question, “Why do I love God?” And one Scripture echoed, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). I am only capable of loving God with all I have because He loved me first! I’m a sinful, broken man, and the only way I can grow to love God “all in” is by His Spirit’s power!
 

The Most Important Commandment

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Ask God Any Question

Several times in my lifetime, I’ve found myself in a conversation with someone who made a statement that they intended to ask God about something when they saw Him someday! How about you? If you could ask God any question, what would it be? Well, in Mark’s Gospel, the writer says that: “One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked Him, ‘Which command is the most important of all?’ Of all the 613 commands found in the Torah (Jewish Old Testament), which was THE most important? Wow! That’s a big question! Which command is at the top of the list? Don’t wanna miss that one! 

The Most Important Command

“This is the most important,” Jesus answered: “Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:28-30). This is really a timely post as it seems the church, in general, is confused about “worship.” But Jesus really clears things up, doesn’t He? He’s really saying that we have to love God with ALL of our being—ALL of our “heart” & our “soul” & our “mind” & our “strength.” So, it’s impossible to love God until we know Him! But we live in a day when everyone claims to love God! That may be a generalization, but I’m absolutely stunned by the number of times that totally lost, unregenerate people—who have NO IDEA “Who” God is—still tell me they LOVE Him!

To Know Him Is To Love Him

I can believe them when they say they “love” pizza, for example, because they’ve tasted it! They’ve handled it! I can believe them when they say they “love” hunting because it’s something they’ve done! They take their dog and a friend! So, they’ve experienced it! But you cannot possibly love God until you KNOW God! Until you’ve met Him and know Him well enough to explain WHY you love Him! Study Jesus’ words! That’s precisely what He’s saying! Jesus says we must love God PERSONALLY! Notice, from His response to the scribe’s question, how Jesus uses six “personal” pronouns, and every one of them is “possessive”— “The Lord OUR God”; “Love the Lord YOUR God”… ”with all YOUR HEART”… ”with all YOUR SOUL”… “with all YOUR MIND”… “with all YOUR STRENGTH.”

Love God Personally

THE most important commandment in all of Scripture is to have a personal, possessive love for God, Jesus says. And you cannot love someone you don’t know! My wife and I have been married 42 years, but I confess to you that there were 20 years during which time I did not love her! Not one bit of love did I have for her, and the reason was that I didn’t know her! I hadn’t met her yet! Once I did, I grew to love her as I came to know her! That’s no different with God! We have to know Him personally before we can claim to love Him! We come to know His character, and we know Him through Jesus and the Word! And when we truly know Him, we can’t help but love Him.