Loving God
Yesterday's post about love languages has had me thinking this morning. What is God's love language? How can I please him? How can I best love the One I was made to love?
I don't want to be accused of making God smaller than he is, but I think that one of the best ways to understand God is to simply look at ourselves. We were made in his image...what a gift for so many reasons!
If all of us speak one (or a combo) of the 5 love languages, then it seems to me that God must speaks all of the languages perfectly. What does that mean in practical terms?
1. Loving God with Words of Affirmation
This one seems pretty straight forward to me. Praise him! Tell God how wonderful you think he is. Verbally, mentally, or in print...list all of the wonderful qualities of God. Think and meditate on God's qualities and really communicate with God all of the things that you think are incredible about him. Worship him in spirit and in truth...let his goodness sink into your very soul and then sing his praises.
2. Quality Time
How can we spend time with God? I think a great way is to simply have a conversation with him...Pray. The Lords asks us to pray continually. Why? Could it be that God simply want to spend time with us because he loves us? Because he wants to be loved by us?
3. Receiving of Gifts
I had to think about this one for a while. After all...what can I possibly give God? Anything I have, I received from him in the first place! Seems pretty silly to try and imagine what I could give him. But then it hit me...my heart.
God wants a real and loving relationship with us. If he forces us to have a relationship with him, how can it be a genuine relationship? Every true relationship is based on the fact that both parties choose to be involved. Each person exercises their free will to love the other.
All I have to really offer God...something that he doesn't have already and something he can't/won't force me to give...is my own love. All I can give God is my heart, my love, my devotion...my life. I can live for him. I can live to love him.
4. Acts of Service
This one makes me think of "feed my sheep". When we serve others with love, we serve and love him.
5. Physical Touch
This is a tough one! After all, how can we physically touch God when we are not physically in his presence?
I suppose we could look at it in the same way that we look at "acts of service". When we physically serve others, we are serving him. That's going to have to do it while we're on this side of heaven.
But there will come a time when we will "know as we are known". There will come a time when we are physically risen from the dead, just as Jesus was. There will come a time when we will be able to physically touch the face of God. Can you even imagine? Wow.
It seems that then...when this whole earthly drama is finally played out...only then will this love story be complete. We will be forever with the one who made us. The one who made us so that he could love us and so that we could be loved by us.
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Well, this post took me all day to pray and think about! I am so thankful for this lesson today...I've never put much thought into how to love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength. I hope it was a blessing to you too.
I don't want to be accused of making God smaller than he is, but I think that one of the best ways to understand God is to simply look at ourselves. We were made in his image...what a gift for so many reasons!
If all of us speak one (or a combo) of the 5 love languages, then it seems to me that God must speaks all of the languages perfectly. What does that mean in practical terms?
1. Loving God with Words of Affirmation
This one seems pretty straight forward to me. Praise him! Tell God how wonderful you think he is. Verbally, mentally, or in print...list all of the wonderful qualities of God. Think and meditate on God's qualities and really communicate with God all of the things that you think are incredible about him. Worship him in spirit and in truth...let his goodness sink into your very soul and then sing his praises.
2. Quality Time
How can we spend time with God? I think a great way is to simply have a conversation with him...Pray. The Lords asks us to pray continually. Why? Could it be that God simply want to spend time with us because he loves us? Because he wants to be loved by us?
3. Receiving of Gifts
I had to think about this one for a while. After all...what can I possibly give God? Anything I have, I received from him in the first place! Seems pretty silly to try and imagine what I could give him. But then it hit me...my heart.
God wants a real and loving relationship with us. If he forces us to have a relationship with him, how can it be a genuine relationship? Every true relationship is based on the fact that both parties choose to be involved. Each person exercises their free will to love the other.
All I have to really offer God...something that he doesn't have already and something he can't/won't force me to give...is my own love. All I can give God is my heart, my love, my devotion...my life. I can live for him. I can live to love him.
4. Acts of Service
This one makes me think of "feed my sheep". When we serve others with love, we serve and love him.
5. Physical Touch
This is a tough one! After all, how can we physically touch God when we are not physically in his presence?
I suppose we could look at it in the same way that we look at "acts of service". When we physically serve others, we are serving him. That's going to have to do it while we're on this side of heaven.
But there will come a time when we will "know as we are known". There will come a time when we are physically risen from the dead, just as Jesus was. There will come a time when we will be able to physically touch the face of God. Can you even imagine? Wow.
It seems that then...when this whole earthly drama is finally played out...only then will this love story be complete. We will be forever with the one who made us. The one who made us so that he could love us and so that we could be loved by us.
_____________________________________________________________________
Well, this post took me all day to pray and think about! I am so thankful for this lesson today...I've never put much thought into how to love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my strength. I hope it was a blessing to you too.
