We’ve Got to Love God’s Love

We've Got to Love God's Love

Daniel Courington

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 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. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. (1 John 5:1-4)".

I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You. It's a funny thing, that Love word. We want to hear it over and over again but, at the same time, it is worth no more than the paper it is written on or the air it is spoken into if we do not back it up with some sort of action. I have dealt with multiple families where a spouse would daily tell his wife he loved her and would daily abuse, curse, and put down his wife and children. It reminds me of what James was saying when he said: From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:10) The teachings of the religious world are not too much different than the men who do these terrible things. One could even say that it is much worse because it can cause people to fall into an eternal death. Denominationalism continues to preach and teach that all we have to do is believe and love God– no other action necessary. As a matter of fact, you can act in opposition to the love of God in every way possible but as long as you will say a little prayer to yourself, you too can be saved. The religious world has taken the idea of repentance and degraded it to a mere option for those who are "really committed".

Living a repented, or changed, life is the ONLY way that we can show God that we love Him. Telling God that you love Him and that you love His love, while living a life of sin, is no different than the abusive husband who treats his bride with malice and disrespect while repeatedly saying "I Love You". If we truly love God, it does not mean that we won't make mistakes. As a bride, the Church both individually and collectively will make mistakes, but we will not be overtly abusive towards his commands for us and we will always seek the well-being of our husband. We will submit to his commandments and His commandments are not burdensome (v.3). Just because they are not burdensome does not mean that they are easy. However, it does mean that every command that God gives is given for a reason. Every command is meant to either help guide us through a very difficult world or to display our obedience towards Him.

Not only have I seen "loving" abusive parents and spouses, I have seen kids that would go to the ends of the world to gain their love and approval. They want the approval of despicable, mean, and callous men because they understand that it is their father. Knowing this, how much more should we be willing to do each and every thing that our father commands us? Having the knowledge that God loved us so much that he sent Jesus Christ to die for us, we should be willing to do anything and everything to gain his approval. Fortunately, we know what we must do to gain God's approval: "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments". Let's strive to keep all of the commandments which God has given to us in his inspired word. That is the very essence of loving God's love.