"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27.
There have been times in my marriage where my wife and I have been apart, or have been very busy, or have been dealing with stress, and she will ask to affirm and verbalize my love for her. "I need to know you love me," she would say, or something to that extent. And I hate to admit it, but my typical reaction could be characterized as frustrated and defensive. "Do I love you? Of course I love you! I tell you I love you multiple times a day. I committed my life to being with you. I serve you because I love you. I intentionally spend time with you because I love you. I have done so many things to show you that I love you! How can you even ask that?"
And these are valid points. They are true. I do love Allison and the things I do for her are a demonstration of that love. But what I have learned is that, while they are good things, she needs more than me just to perform my faithful obligations as a husband. Yes she needs to hear me say I love you, but she also needs to see it in my eyes. Yes she appreciates it if I fix her breakfast in the morning, but she needs me to do it with joy in my Spirit and with a desire for her. She doesn't want all the things I can do for her, she wants me and she wants my heart. And it makes sense to me now that during the times that I am particularly busy or stressed and my mind has a tendency to be focused on other things, why she feels the need to bring me back. Because even though I am still doing everything for her, she realizes that my heart has been distracted. She needs my emotions to evidence what my mouth is saying. She feels loved when my heart seeks after her.
So I ask you, do you love God? Your tendency may be to respond like I did to Allison. "Of course I love God! I pray every single day. I have given up so many things. If God asked me to do anything I would do it! Of course I love Him. Why would you even ask me that?" And the Bible will even tell us that faithful obedience is an evidence of love (John 14:21). But the problem I fear is that while many in the church are firmly grounded in their beliefs and faithfully obedient to God, they are also emotionally apathetic towards God. Church members will sing "Victory in Jesus" and affirm the validity of it! Yet a smile does not come to their face, nor a joy to their heart. Church members will dutifully say amen when a preacher preaches about the hopelessness of the lost. Yet not one ounce of sorrow burdens their heart for unbelievers. Church members will tell others that God Himself has come down to earth and in His mercy has saved us from our sins by giving His life on a cross and resurrecting from the dead. Yet they sometimes have a tendency to say it in a matter-of-fact way void of any awe or wonder at all. And that's confusing. Just as it is confusing for me to tell my wife I love her when frustration is all over my face. Telling someone that you have been rescued from eternal hell that you deserved strictly because the love and grace of the God of the universe with a frown on your face doesn't make sense.
And I love the fact that Jesus was obedient to God, and He faithfully gave His life for me. That shows me He loves me. But I also love that, along with that, the Bible tells me that God is for me. I love that Jesus cries out for Jerusalem and desires they turn to Him. I love that God knows the number of hairs on my head and cares for me more than the sparrow. I love that He sincerely loves me, and His emotions as well as His actions reflect that.
So, do you love God? Then don't be so stoic. Don't be so stressed, or busy, or numb that you let your heart get far from God. Read a passage about Jesus feeding 5,000 men with a child's lunch and give yourself time to be amazed. Read about the reality that those without Christ will be separated from God, and weep for those who have rejected the Gospel. Read the passion narrative and the gospel and let your heart leap with joy that you have been given new life and have received the free gift of salvation! The Gospel is Good News! Receive it! Because if you believe something, your emotions (heart) should follow suit. So love the Lord with all your HEART, as well as your soul, strength, and mind. And take time to focus on Him and foster that passion and adoration for our incredible, loving God. And allow Him to affect your heart in a way that demands an emotional response.
There have been times in my marriage where my wife and I have been apart, or have been very busy, or have been dealing with stress, and she will ask to affirm and verbalize my love for her. "I need to know you love me," she would say, or something to that extent. And I hate to admit it, but my typical reaction could be characterized as frustrated and defensive. "Do I love you? Of course I love you! I tell you I love you multiple times a day. I committed my life to being with you. I serve you because I love you. I intentionally spend time with you because I love you. I have done so many things to show you that I love you! How can you even ask that?"
And these are valid points. They are true. I do love Allison and the things I do for her are a demonstration of that love. But what I have learned is that, while they are good things, she needs more than me just to perform my faithful obligations as a husband. Yes she needs to hear me say I love you, but she also needs to see it in my eyes. Yes she appreciates it if I fix her breakfast in the morning, but she needs me to do it with joy in my Spirit and with a desire for her. She doesn't want all the things I can do for her, she wants me and she wants my heart. And it makes sense to me now that during the times that I am particularly busy or stressed and my mind has a tendency to be focused on other things, why she feels the need to bring me back. Because even though I am still doing everything for her, she realizes that my heart has been distracted. She needs my emotions to evidence what my mouth is saying. She feels loved when my heart seeks after her.
So I ask you, do you love God? Your tendency may be to respond like I did to Allison. "Of course I love God! I pray every single day. I have given up so many things. If God asked me to do anything I would do it! Of course I love Him. Why would you even ask me that?" And the Bible will even tell us that faithful obedience is an evidence of love (John 14:21). But the problem I fear is that while many in the church are firmly grounded in their beliefs and faithfully obedient to God, they are also emotionally apathetic towards God. Church members will sing "Victory in Jesus" and affirm the validity of it! Yet a smile does not come to their face, nor a joy to their heart. Church members will dutifully say amen when a preacher preaches about the hopelessness of the lost. Yet not one ounce of sorrow burdens their heart for unbelievers. Church members will tell others that God Himself has come down to earth and in His mercy has saved us from our sins by giving His life on a cross and resurrecting from the dead. Yet they sometimes have a tendency to say it in a matter-of-fact way void of any awe or wonder at all. And that's confusing. Just as it is confusing for me to tell my wife I love her when frustration is all over my face. Telling someone that you have been rescued from eternal hell that you deserved strictly because the love and grace of the God of the universe with a frown on your face doesn't make sense.
And I love the fact that Jesus was obedient to God, and He faithfully gave His life for me. That shows me He loves me. But I also love that, along with that, the Bible tells me that God is for me. I love that Jesus cries out for Jerusalem and desires they turn to Him. I love that God knows the number of hairs on my head and cares for me more than the sparrow. I love that He sincerely loves me, and His emotions as well as His actions reflect that.
So, do you love God? Then don't be so stoic. Don't be so stressed, or busy, or numb that you let your heart get far from God. Read a passage about Jesus feeding 5,000 men with a child's lunch and give yourself time to be amazed. Read about the reality that those without Christ will be separated from God, and weep for those who have rejected the Gospel. Read the passion narrative and the gospel and let your heart leap with joy that you have been given new life and have received the free gift of salvation! The Gospel is Good News! Receive it! Because if you believe something, your emotions (heart) should follow suit. So love the Lord with all your HEART, as well as your soul, strength, and mind. And take time to focus on Him and foster that passion and adoration for our incredible, loving God. And allow Him to affect your heart in a way that demands an emotional response.