I Love God?

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.”

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross.”

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And then second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

I love God.

1 Corinthians 13 and Hebrews 2 has often been used to talk about how we are to follow the second greatest commandment, especially in regards to marriage. And that is true. In fact, I am willing to credit my desire and ability to have a good marriage to those two verses. It is only because I try and mimic Christ’s attitude of humbleness that I am able to put my husband’s needs above my own. And it is because I have a deep, abiding love for Jason that I work to be patient, kind, excited for his victories, humble, and not rude. It is also my love for him that makes it possible for me to protect his heart, trust him at all times, hope with and for him and persevere with him. I have also been able to apply those same principles to my other relationships, with friends and family alike. These verses have been applied to God’s dedication and love for us.

However, recently it occurred to me that I have neglected to apply those same principles to my relationship with God. I read this verse in light of what Jesus said was the greatest commandment.

If I truly love God I will be patient with Him to reveal His will, His plan and His purpose, not become easily angered and trust Him. This is one of my biggest struggles. I am very accustomed to having things now. Part of that is because of the society and generation in which I was raised, however, a good part of that too is because I typically find a way to get what I want, when I want it and usually even how I want it. I tend to look like I am being patient and trusting God, but in my heart I am often angry that I am not getting my way.

If I truly love God I will be kind to Him and not be rude. I am somewhat ashamed to say that of all the relationships in my life I am probably the most unkind to God. I will yell and scream at Him in ways that I would never yell and scream at anyone else. I blame Him for things that are my fault. I ignore Him. I disregard Him.

If I truly love God I will not be envious of Him. My envy is usually fairly subtle and on the surface is directed towards others. But I have discovered the past week or two that it is truly an issue I have with God. I become envious when God uses others to do something for which I think I should be used. And when I realize that I am envious I typically do not become upset with the other person, I become upset with God.

If I truly love God I will not be proud, yet often I go before Him, chest puffed out saying “See what I did? And I did it all by myself.” Who am I kidding?

If I truly love God, I will not be self seeking. A while back I purposefully changed my prayer life. It was a wonderful experience for me and for others. And yet, I still find myself spending a good deal of time begging God to fulfill my selfish desires.

If I truly love God, I will keep no record of wrong. As I am writing this, I find it humorous that I struggle with this particular statement. In my mind I know that God does no wrong. However, I sit here and think about how many times I have reminded Him of how many things He did not do for me, fix for me or how He did me wrong.

If I truly love God I will protect Him. Sound absurd? I mean, does God really need my protection? I believe His heart, His message, and His reputation needs it, yes. How do I begin to protect the heart of God? Well, I believe the first step would be make sure that my actions towards God reflect my words to God. Step two will be to get to know the heart of God better. How do I protect His message? Again, one of the best ways would be to make sure I know that message and to makes sure that my heart, my soul, and my mind reflect that message. And His reputation? Since Christ lives in me, when I behave differently than what I proclaim I help ruin His reputation.

If I truly love God I will always hope in God. If I truly love God, I will always persevere with God.

To better follow the greatest commandment I am hearing the those two verses differently now. “My love for God is patient, kind, is not envious, not boastful or proud. My love for God is not rude, not self seeking, not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. My love for God does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. My love for God will always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.” and “My attitude towards God will be that of Christ Jesus: Who, being very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross.”