Loving God

“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you will know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” – John 14:15-17

Signs of Valentine’s Day are still sprinkled throughout my house. A Valentine’s Day card sits on top of the pile of mail on the counter. My Valentine’s decorations are still displayed on my dining room table.

I love the idea of Valentine’s Day. Even though it’s mostly a Hallmark holiday, I think it’s good to have a reminder that we need to communicate our love to the people most important to us.

In expressing my love for others, my thoughts turned to how God demonstrates His love to me in so many ways. I love how God is so personal and how He expresses love to us so creatively. He knows everything about us, even the words that will come out of our mouths before we speak them.

In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, I began to wonder, “How can I show my love to the author of love, God?”

God’s Word is a treasure chest and as I read it and walk with Him, I’ve learned of different ways that I can express love toward Him:

• Obey Him: In our key verse Jesus says that if we love Him, we’ll obey Him. He has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us, to help us and guide us. The Holy Spirit speaks to us and convicts us when we make bad choices. Obedience is hard sometimes because our spirit wages war with our flesh. But God’s ways are always better than anything we can choose for ourselves.

• Spend Time with Him: This is true in any relationship, but especially in our relationship with God. If we look at how we spend our time, we’d see what our priorities truly are. Is God on that priority list? John 10:3-4 says “The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” The sheep know the watchman’s voice because they regularly spend time listening to Him speak.

• Worship Him: Our Lord is worthy of our praise! When we worship Him, we express our adoration and devotion to Him. 1 Chronicles 16:39 (NLT) reads, “Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come to worship him. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.”

• Love Others: 1 John 4:7-19 are great verses that tell of God’s love. Verse eight tells us that if we do not love, we do not know God, because God is love. It’s easy to love the lovable, but what about the people who undermine, betray or take advantage of you? It’s so hard to love as God loves, but with God as our model, we can take steps toward imitating His selfless, agape love.

• Trust Him: One of my biggest struggles is worry. As I’ve tried to combat this sin in my life, I’ve realized that my worry is a lack of faith and trust in God to handle my circumstances. When I trust God, I acknowledge His power and His priority in my life. 1 Peter 1:8-9 says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

In what other ways do you display your love to God?

Lord, I pray that we’d always acknowledge the ways that you love us. Please help us to remember to express our affection for you because you are worthy! I pray that we’d love you wholeheartedly every day of our lives.