LOVE: AN ACTION WORD

Do you love God? I know your immediate response is probably a hearty "yes!". However the love that I am referring to is not a love that is based on your emotions or the gooey feelings you get from time spent in the presence of God. All that's good, but it doesn't determine whether you really love God; in other words, it's not indicative of true bible love.

Why is that? Because true love is more than a feeling; it's backed up by action. And whether or not one really loves God is not measured by how much we say "I love the Lord" but instead is measured by what we do. In short our love for God is summed up in one simple word: obedience. Jesus said in John 14:15,

"If ye love me, keep [or obey] my commandments."

So you see the way God measures our love for Him is by how well we obey His commandments.

Now personally, I like this objective standard for measuring my love for God, because it means that even on the days when I don't have any "gooey" feelings towards God, I can rest assured that I'm still loving Him and He knows that I still love Him because of my obedience to Him and His Word.

The Word of God declares that God is Love. (I John 4:16) He is love, and He is constantly demonstrating His love in our lives. Therefore, it's time that we became serious about our love walk towards God. Once we become adept at loving God, then we will be able to truly love ourselves and others. Maybe you have had a difficult time appreciating and loving yourself or others up until now. The reason for that is that you have not mastered the first requirement: love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength. Mastering this will ensure that you will then be able to love thy neighbor as thyself. Transform your life today by making a commitment to love God-and remember: Love never fails! (I Cor. 13:8)