“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37 NIV).
GOD INITIATES HIS LOVE TOWARD US even when we don’t deserve it. God’s Love is Perfect, Sacrificial, Total, Complete, Selfless, Undying, Unconditional, Eternal, and it is for all men, for all times. God is Love.
As God showers His love upon us, we are called to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. God does not demand this love from us. In fact, He gives it to us regardless of our feelings.
In order to love God, we must first receive it and allow it to change us from the inside out. It is from this place of transformation that we begin to love God. This love is agape love—an unconditional love. As God has already demonstrated this perfect love in the form of Christ’s dying for us, we are asked to love God in a similar way.
Our love for God is not based on emotions, feelings, outcomes, blessings, or results. It is founded solely on God’s love for us and His unchanging character. Love is not a feeling but an action.
So as Christ lives and dwells in us, allow Him to love God no matter the circumstance. Our call to love God needs to be the primary thing that should mark our life. Out of this love we will love ourselves and then love others (the body of Christ and a world in search of Him).
“God’s desire for relationship with you is not simply for your benefit. It is for God’s benefit! Relationship is to be developed and enjoyed by two parties. Your resisting of His efforts to break down barriers between the two of you is painful to Him. He died that our intimacy with Him might begin here, not in heaven. He longs for your physical death to become anticipated, not simply because you grow weary of the hassles of earth, but because of your growing excitement about throwing yourself into His loving arms.” — Bill Gillham
BW
Purchase the Entire Devotional – “Experiencing Christ as Life and Leader”
The devotion above was taken from the 52-week Devotional entitled “Experiencing Christ as Life and Leader”.
Many give a mental assent to this teaching yet are often asking, “What do I do? What does Christ as life look like?“ Too often Christians err by moving too far to one side or the other—reducing the Christian life to a list of do’s and don’ts, or they actually do nothing.
These inspiring weekly devotions are just some of the actions that reflect the life of Christ in each of us, and they explore four areas as we follow the One Leader, Jesus Christ –
- A Foundational Focus
- A Personal Focus
- A Relational Focus
- A Missional Focus
Be challenged, encouraged, and spurred on to a deeper walk with Christ.
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