If you love me...
How do I know my husband loves me? Because he left the channel on Hallmark when he could have changed it to football. Furthermore, he didn't even ask me to change it.
For the record, he says he'd rather be "kicked in the balls" than watch a Hallmark Christmas movie, and yet he always puts his desires second to mine. Though, he has suggested that Hallmark add a fight or two. He'd even be satisfied if something blew up. But alas, they haven't changed their programing. To be clear, he knows he can change the channel any time he likes, and I'm not going to complain.
Love is a funny thing. When you really love someone, you don't insist on your own way. Sadly, many people aren't particularly good at loving others. Marriages are falling apart. Kids are raising themselves. Families are a mess. When most people think of true love, they think about what they can get, not what they can give. And I'm afraid Hallmark is a bastion of this false truth. True love isn't found in how someone else makes you feel.
So, it shouldn't be surprising that many in this world claim to love God, but believe they can still live for themselves. Even people inside the church tout how much they love God, yet they embrace the sin in their lives. For some, the sin is quiet and hidden - pornography, pride, materialism. For others, the sin is more obvious - sexual immorality, gossip, alcoholism, abuse.
But God makes it very clear. Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." He didn't say, if you keep my commandments, you'll love me. He said, people who truly love do this - they put their desires second to God's. Elizabeth Elliott once said, "When obedience to God contradicts what I think will give me pleasure, let me ask myself if I love Him." And there you have it.
Do you love God? Really? Or is it just something you say because you want to go to Heaven? Is God's Law precious to to because you want to please Him, or do you see it as a curse or burden that removes fun from you life? Do you just say you're a Christian because you go to church? Or do you have a deep longing to know and please your Savior regardless of the cost to you? True love isn't a feeling. True love isn't a checklist of things. True love for God permeates all that you do, which is why, if you love God, you will strive to keep His commandments always.
Love is a funny thing. When you really love someone, you don't insist on your own way. Sadly, many people aren't particularly good at loving others. Marriages are falling apart. Kids are raising themselves. Families are a mess. When most people think of true love, they think about what they can get, not what they can give. And I'm afraid Hallmark is a bastion of this false truth. True love isn't found in how someone else makes you feel.
So, it shouldn't be surprising that many in this world claim to love God, but believe they can still live for themselves. Even people inside the church tout how much they love God, yet they embrace the sin in their lives. For some, the sin is quiet and hidden - pornography, pride, materialism. For others, the sin is more obvious - sexual immorality, gossip, alcoholism, abuse.
But God makes it very clear. Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." He didn't say, if you keep my commandments, you'll love me. He said, people who truly love do this - they put their desires second to God's. Elizabeth Elliott once said, "When obedience to God contradicts what I think will give me pleasure, let me ask myself if I love Him." And there you have it.
Do you love God? Really? Or is it just something you say because you want to go to Heaven? Is God's Law precious to to because you want to please Him, or do you see it as a curse or burden that removes fun from you life? Do you just say you're a Christian because you go to church? Or do you have a deep longing to know and please your Savior regardless of the cost to you? True love isn't a feeling. True love isn't a checklist of things. True love for God permeates all that you do, which is why, if you love God, you will strive to keep His commandments always.
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