Bible passages: 1st John 4: 16 & 19-20, 1st John 5: 2-4, Psalm 103
Presented by Chinwe Aneke
Lately, I've been thinking about the concept of love and how/why we love God. I wonder if I pray, fast and worship God for all He has done; and do I do these things for the promises that He has made for my future? I've realized that there's nothing wrong with being thankful for the past. Nothing wrong with praising God for His blessings. But sometimes, I feel like it's not enough. I want to be able to love God and praise Him no matter the circumstance.
When you love someone for the things they can do for you or the pleasure you can derive by being associated with them, I think that you're giving the person a surface (Erotica) kind of love.
So why do we love Him? 1st John 4:19 says we love Him because he first loved us. I've noticed that I have to make that conscious initial effort to truly get to know God. I may never understand how/why He does things the way He does, but I can still love him regardless. 1st John 4:9-10 made me realize that since God loves me even in my imperfections, it should make me want to love Him more. If someone loves you for who you are (despite the pain and hurt you cause them), it means that there's a deeper love than the surface love, it equates to Agape love.
Once you set your mind on attaining that deep Agape love (note that no one can ever attain the level of Agape love that Christ has for us because the love that humans can give is inherently imperfect), it takes away the 'religiosity' of Christianity. You begin to have a genuine appreciation for His love and the sacrifices He's made for you. It gets easier to trust God with your life and your future. Agape love makes it easier to have faith in God even when nothing is going well in your life. Agape love makes you want to live right for God, not in the religious sense, but in a spiritually-connected manner. It makes you love those around you, including those who have hurt you AND those whom you've hurt. Because it reminds you that God loved you in spite of your wrong-doings. It makes life joyful because you know that whatever comes your way in life, you are secure in the arms of the One who loves you.
Finally, Psalm 103 speaks of the immense love that God has for you.
vs 2-5 = the surface type of love
vs 8 - 10 = How God loves us
vs 11 - 12 & vs 17 - 18= The magnitude of His love for
Lately, I've been thinking about the concept of love and how/why we love God. I wonder if I pray, fast and worship God for all He has done; and do I do these things for the promises that He has made for my future? I've realized that there's nothing wrong with being thankful for the past. Nothing wrong with praising God for His blessings. But sometimes, I feel like it's not enough. I want to be able to love God and praise Him no matter the circumstance.
When you love someone for the things they can do for you or the pleasure you can derive by being associated with them, I think that you're giving the person a surface (Erotica) kind of love.
So why do we love Him? 1st John 4:19 says we love Him because he first loved us. I've noticed that I have to make that conscious initial effort to truly get to know God. I may never understand how/why He does things the way He does, but I can still love him regardless. 1st John 4:9-10 made me realize that since God loves me even in my imperfections, it should make me want to love Him more. If someone loves you for who you are (despite the pain and hurt you cause them), it means that there's a deeper love than the surface love, it equates to Agape love.
Once you set your mind on attaining that deep Agape love (note that no one can ever attain the level of Agape love that Christ has for us because the love that humans can give is inherently imperfect), it takes away the 'religiosity' of Christianity. You begin to have a genuine appreciation for His love and the sacrifices He's made for you. It gets easier to trust God with your life and your future. Agape love makes it easier to have faith in God even when nothing is going well in your life. Agape love makes you want to live right for God, not in the religious sense, but in a spiritually-connected manner. It makes you love those around you, including those who have hurt you AND those whom you've hurt. Because it reminds you that God loved you in spite of your wrong-doings. It makes life joyful because you know that whatever comes your way in life, you are secure in the arms of the One who loves you.
Finally, Psalm 103 speaks of the immense love that God has for you.
vs 2-5 = the surface type of love
vs 8 - 10 = How God loves us
vs 11 - 12 & vs 17 - 18= The magnitude of His love for
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1 Opinions/Comments:
Loving God back is the only way to repay Him for his kindness and love towards Us. I mean he sent his ONLY SON to Die in our place. I Love God
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