Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

Psalm 20:4  May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.

I remember reading this verse and not having a clue what the desire of my heart was.  On top of that, I didn’t know what my specific plans were either.  A close friend asked me if I could do anything I wanted, what would it be?  I couldn’t answer him either – other than saying to be prosperous or successful.

This began a search for me. I just hadn’t thought that much about what my desires were.  It seemed there were things I could say that sounded good, but they really didn’t reflect a deep-seated desire.  It was a given that I wanted to provide for my family and do well at my job, but it seemed that this verse was talking about something deeper than that.

This search became a part of my relationship with God.  I was seeking to become more passionate in my love for Him.  I wanted my life to better demonstrate my love for Him by doing the things His word says to do and to refrain from doing those things it says to avoid.  It became clear that in order to love God more, my life had to become more conformed to His word.  The more it did, the more I loved Him and pleased Him.

Through this search it became delightfully clear to me, that the Lord was giving me understanding about what He wanted our primary desires to be – that He in turn would grant.  More than anything else, He wants us to love Him and please Him in everything.

He also opened my eyes to see that loving my wife, Donna, was inextricably interwoven with loving Him.  Loving Him more, meant loving her more.  (Think of 1 John 4:20b For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.)  Having warm, wonderful emotional feelings for your spouse and for God is great, but loving someone is so much more than that.  We must recognize the reality that our feelings can be communicating one thing, but our attitudes and actions can be sending a very different message.

The reality of life has a way of revealing where we are weak and in need of change.  Who better for the Lord to use than those closest to us to reveal such things?  If we could neither speak nor write – our love must be evident by the life we live.  The desire of our heart must be such a life.

Philemon 4-5  Every time your name comes up in my prayers, I say, “Oh, thank you, God!” I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other believers. The Message

What a testimony!  Think of inspiring joy and thanksgiving in others because of our love and faith in Jesus – and that faith and love overflow to those around us.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if those who knew us could write such a declaration describing us?!!  The issue isn’t recognition but one of acknowledgement of the reality of Christ’s love worked out in our lives.

Who are the Christians in our lives who really are a blessing to us and to others?  Take a moment and see who comes to mind; whose lives fulfill such a description.  Does the mere thought of them bring a smile to your face and a heartfelt gratitude that they are in your life?

Now think of the joy if others think of us and react with an, “Oh, thank you God!”  Believe it or not, that is the destiny that the Lord has for each of us!  In John 13:35 Jesus describes how disciples that are truly His will be recognized,

“This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciple —when they see the love you have for each other.”

 It’s not by our verbal testimony – nor by attending meetings or being part of a recognizable “Christian” group.  It is by our love for one another that all will recognize His disciples. And the quality of this love is to be the highest imaginable! In the verse preceding this Jesus describes this love:  “In the same way I loved you, you love one another.”

Instead of being overwhelmed with the thought of “How on earth do we ever do that?” our response should be closer to giddy excitement that our God enables us to love each other just as Jesus did!  This is our destiny – we get to do this!  And when we do, others will know that we belong to Jesus.  It’s all about Him.

Hebrews 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: KJV

I am reminded of our son Andrew and his gymnastic team at Washington Court Athletic Club.  There were 6 boys on the 9 year old team (Class IV) that became state champions in 1990: Andrew, Greg, Johnny, Kenny, Matt and Nick.  A 50 point all-around score (6 events) is a very good score at that level and all 6 of the boys were able to score near 50 and above in competition.

This meant that their practices were something special because they all were doing so many things right. They still had fun – they were 9 year old boys – but they were seeing and experiencing commitment to excellence in every practice.  They worked hard and watched one another do routines right.  They helped and encouraged each other.  They wanted to win as individuals but it was the team that was most important.

Today’s verse talks about us provoking one another to love and good works.  The NIV uses the phrase ‘spur one another on’.  The idea is the reverse of being jealous or depressed by seeing the efforts and accomplishments of our peers.  The efforts and accomplishments of those around us can provoke similar things in us. They are meant to encourage and motivate.  We can all experience excellence in the tasks we face.

When you or your friends need help with something, are there certain individuals who always seem to be there helping?  This is a practical expression of loving one another – to be there when needed.  It’s important to have our “eyes and ears” trained to recognize the opportunities when they arise – and to use the examples of those who have helped us to spur us on to help others.

This is what we need to see in our relationships with those around us.  It will encourage and challenge us.  It makes us all want to try harder and support one another.  It also provokes such a sense of gratitude that we get to be part of such a group.  The Lord has given us such a marvelous opportunity to bless one another, our community and most of all Him.  Our prayer is that we will be ever-faithful to the challenges He has placed before us.

Proverbs 25:11-12  The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry, And a wise friend’s timely reprimand is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.  The Message

My wife Donna has this wonderful habit.  When the two of us disagree on something, she is right about 99% of the time.  I’m not certain but I suspect on those rare occasions when she is mistaken, that she’s just being kind and giving me an opportunity to be right.

A similar situation exists with our sons.  They are right and I am wrong a whole lot more often than seems reasonable – particularly when it comes to remembering things.  It’s not that it happens all the time – just frequently enough for them to remind me.  It typically results in smiles and laughter.  The feelings I experience are similar to those I have when they share stories of goofy things I have done over the years.

I realize this sounds pretty dumb but isn’t it better to discover that we are mistaken about something and accept correction than to go merrily on our way being wrong?  There are situations where it’s easier to accept correction like if we’re going the wrong direction to get somewhere or when an event is scheduled.

But what about when our beliefs, actions or attitudes in relationships are either wrong or less than they should be?  How positive (or negative) are our responses to someone informing us of that?  Is this an area where we have created (through our past responses) a big NO TRESPASSING sign?  Our family and friends know they go there at their own risk – sort of the only thing worse than me being wrong is you making the mistake of informing me of that fact.

It all boils down to being teachable and becoming a lover of the truth.  We are to have a spirit that wants to improve and is willing to hear and receive a timely word or some corrective input.  Think of how wonderful it is when something we share is graciously received.  Of course it always helps if it is graciously given, but the truth is the truth no matter how it’s given.

Being a lover of the truth means that we don’t reject the message because 1) we reject the messenger, nor 2) the manner in which the message was given.  We have our ears attuned to the Spirit and we cultivate an attitude that responds righteously to others input.  It’s amazing the things we can learn about ourselves and the helpful changes we can make when we do.

Mark 12:28–31  ²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”  ²⁹“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.  ³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these.”

This portion of Mark describes a wonderful interaction between Jesus and a teacher of the law.  It is one of my favorites because this teacher recognized the truth.  This teacher is one of the very few leaders who interacted wisely with Jesus.  Jesus is asked to identify the most important commandment – which He does in quoting Deuteronomy 6:4,5.

Note how Jesus describes loving God.  Jesus describes it as loving Him with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  This is something that you work at in accomplishing – not something that just happens.  It requires intentionality and is all consuming.  Also remember that this is the greatest commandment.  Nothing is greater.

Let’s look at it from a different perspective.  Consider loving God as an acquired skill.  It is defined by a whole set of beliefs, attitudes, motives and actions. It has standards all its own, and Scripture details what they are.  It involves learning the specific required skills in order to become good at it. In order to develop excellence, a great deal of practice is required.  We might think of it as being lifelong apprentices – we never stop learning how to do it better.

When we were born again we became new in Christ.  We were freed from the power of sin in order to become the people that God wants us to be.  Jesus’ answer describes the people we are to become – lovers of God.  But loving God goes beyond skill sets we acquire because it involves who we are as a person. Praise God, the Holy Spirit is the master craftsman, our personal trainer, coach, enabler and so much more.  He is God’s gift to us so that this might all come about.

We may start out doing many of these things because we are supposed to, but as we embrace the process, the Spirit will transform us so that it all becomes a genuine expression of a life committed to Jesus.  We more and more become that which we are doing.   Loving God becomes the passion of our lives.