It’s funny that the last blog entry I have is about love since the question has come up yet again, but from a different perspective. In my church’s small group (I can’t remember if I mentioned it or not yet but I joined one), we are currently reading Timothy Keller’s book called Prayer: Experiencing Awe an Intimacy with God. On page 16, the author states that theologian John Murray “is assuming that Christians will have a palpable love relationship with him and do have a potential for personal knowledge and experience of God….” So we were asked if that was our experience with God. I think that’s a complex question and hard to answer, but my initial answer was simple. That it wasn’t my experience before, but now yes it is even though I don’t always feel it. I still know and love what I can’t yet see. After hearing other answers however, it made me think about the question more deeply. And so, I didn’t end up sharing my answer which seemed too simple. I felt like I had more to ponder. This is the result.
If asked do you love God, I wonder what most believers would say? Would they automatically say yes? Would some say they don’t know? Or would they admit it if not? My answer before would’ve been “I don’t know” because I had never really thought about that before. God was God and who am I? Nobody. Loving something you can’t see, how? And yet after my initial experience of His love, I wanted to know more. I felt a taste and the more I learned the more I loved the God who loved me. When they did the stations of the cross during Easter time I was emotionally moved in ways I’d never been before. Because I realized what Jesus went through for a sinful world. For me. When none of us deserved it. It was no longer just head knowledge, but had moved to my heart. And yet, it’s not just feelings. It’s feelings moved by the knowledge of what God has done for us. It seems the chicken and egg “dilemma” will never go away. It’s not either/or, but both knowledge and emotion influencing each other and working together into a unified state of gratitude and love. If you have only emotions, you risk creating God into the image you have in your head because that’s what feels good to you. Yet the Bible says, “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). And yet if you have only intellectual doctrine you risk doing things dryly out of obligation. The Bible also says, “if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1). You should have love of God as the foundation for your actions, but also need to know God as He is in order to truly be able to love Him. How can you truly love something if you don’t know it? You can’t say you love a show if you’ve never watched it. What if you watch it and you actually don’t like it? I think that’s what happens with some who say they love God, but then after reading the Bible they disagree with it and either fall away or re-shape their idea of God into something more to their liking. However, then you’re not worshipping in truth who God really is, but rather who you want Him to be. The head and heart must be intertwined. So, what is love? One dictionary definition is “an intense feeling of deep affection.” The Bible describes it in more detail, “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). There are many Bible passages that mention love or give us examples, the primary of which is in and through Jesus. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He died for us while we were still sinners, with people mocking and torturing him as he bore the weight of our sins for us. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). And at such a high price he bought us so that we may live for Him. Loving God and our neighbor as the last entry says, doing the works for which we were created that God prepared beforehand. Jesus told the disciples, “if you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Now, think about the relationships people have in the world. How many marriages end in divorce and what do you think their definitions of love are? There’s a song by Steve Camp that’s called “Love’s Not a Feeling.” He sings that love’s not a feeling we can lose or throw away, based on emotions, but should be a commitment that never ends. That with the Lord we should live it every day instead of washing our hands and giving up, resulting in many broken hearts. That the love Jesus showed is what our hearts need and God won’t walk out on us, so when will we learn? If more people went by this understanding of love, what it is and what it’s not, there’d be fewer divorces. One of my favorite songs is “I Love You Lord” by David Meece. He sings that all the love and joy he’s felt since he met the Lord is like nothing mere words can explain. He turned night into day, rain into sun, cleansed every wrong, gave him symphony and song. That the skies still wouldn’t be gray just as long as he stays with the Lord. How he wishes all the people could see He’s the best thing they could ever receive, and if they’d only believe He’d set them all free to sing, “I love You, love You, love You Lord…” Beautiful lyrics for our God who’s done beautiful things. I too wish everyone could see and sing with us. My favorite song, actually the one from which the title of my site comes from, is “God Found Me” by the Altar Boys. Mike Stand sings he was dying from the inside out and came to find out God loved him and he was not alone. The rebuilding of his broken heart, a clean and brand new start, the more he seeks the more he finds God. How can we ever repay God? Don’t get trapped into the things of this world or you’ll find they just won’t fill your life. You want life, real life? There is no other way, so let Jesus find you like He found us. This song is probably the most meaningful to me and is still probably going to forever remain my favorite for years if not forever. I love when other people put into words what I’m feeling and the music, while perhaps not to everyone’s taste, is awesome. There’s another song by the Altar Boys called “You Are Loved” which basically cries out to all the hearts that have been broken, that God cares about you more than you think. You’re not alone, there’s someone you can hold onto. There are many songs about loving God, God loving us, loving your neighbor, etcetera. I love listening to “old” Christian music, singing things I feel that others put into words. Worshiping God through song. The music adds to the feeling behind the words. On page 29 of Tim Keller’s Prayer book, he says, “Prayer also is ‘a kind of tune.’ Prayer tunes your heart to God. Singing engages the whole being – the heart through the music as well as the mind through the words. Prayer is also a tune others can hear besides you. When your heart has been tuned to God, your joy has an effect on those around you.” I have a sign in our bathroom that says, “Rejoice in the Lord always” and it makes me think of Keith Green’s song medley that includes that. Joy is contagious. In our group we were talking about prayer as being important but not necessarily ultimate, for example above faith or service. Faith without works is dead after all. Someone also mentioned that while we may not be praying for six hours a day, they often find it more meaningful to play a worship song on the guitar and sing a psalm. So what does prayer have to do with love? Well, what is your motivation for prayer? Do you pray out of obligation? Or because you love God and seek to spend time with Him? Are you just asking for things or also thanking Him and praising Him? I’ve heard that there are 4 types of prayer which include adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and petition. Whether there are more categories or they are named differently I’m not sure, but it’s a general list I’ve seen. Prayer is so important that Jesus would go off by himself to pray before and after teaching the crowds. We ought to refuel and do the same or risk running on empty. However, it’s not just about asking for things. The adoration and thanksgiving mean we are also taking the time to praise God and spend time with Him. He is our Creator, Lord of all, and should be our everything. Yet, if we don’t pray, we don’t acknowledge Him or give Him time when He gives us all, including our life. If we don’t pray, we are living life as if He’s not there. It shows what you value, God or yourself. If we believers lack a prayer life or don’t read God’s Word, how can we say we love God without spending time with Him? Not what we imagine Him to be like, but God as He truly is? Someone outside the group once asked if prayer can be written, like in a journal. Many said yes, and I too have written prayers. Some of my poems are or include prayers, and my journal includes some as well. If we can write our prayers, and they can be poems like the Psalms in the Bible, then isn’t music also a form of prayer? Worship is not necessarily confined to just singing just as prayer is not necessarily confined to just saying words. We can sing prayers and worship God with our lives. Paul said to make our life a living sacrifice. Keith Green sings, “make my life a prayer to you.” Why are humans always trying to categorize things and put boundaries up as if nothing can cross over into other spheres? So many things are intertwined. It’s not either/or, but both and all! Categories may help us organize and define things. They’re very useful, but shouldn’t be all-encompassing. Think outside the box and explore all the possibilities. Each of us will express our love in different ways. Some will sing, some will paint, some will write, some will dance, some will serve, some will pray. Ideally we should be doing them all, but not everyone does everything equally. If one feels called by God to serve missions in Africa, that’s great. Some are called to serve where they live. While one person may have a talent that God gave them to share, that doesn’t mean someone else can’t serve doing the same thing. We are each called to serve to the best of our abilities and with all our heart. Now, I won’t be joining the choir any time soon as I wouldn’t want to subject anyone but my family to such torture. But I can sing with the church when we worship together as my voice gets lost in the crowd and I’m singing for God and not man. He doesn’t care if you do it well, as long as you are worshiping from your heart. Or even in spite of your heart sometimes as love’s “not a feeling” but should be more of a commitment. Even when you feel distant from God, it’s usually because of our own sin. I’m glad we’re dependent on the grace of Jesus and not standing on our own, or else we couldn’t approach God. Jesus opened the way for us. We are all expected to pray and spend time in the Word, or how can we say we know and love God? To conclude, I know I love God and that He loves me. I don’t always feel it, but have a few times. I could improve in my prayer life and Bible reading as I’m not always consistent, but also don’t necessarily see myself setting apart specific time slots to fill. Some days my prayers or reading is longer or shorter. I don’t limit it if I go past my “normal” time nor try to extend it with “many words” if my heart/head aren’t in it. God knows where we are so we can’t fool Him. We are to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. Praying and reading ought to bring us comfort and joy, not be a chore. If we love God as we claim, we ought to love spending time with Him. So if I claim to love Him, do I treat God as if I do? Unfortunately, not always. That doesn’t sound very promising does it? Thankfully we’re not standing on our own merits. Believers are standing on Christ. He is our rock, fortress, mediator, and Savior. He died for us and now intercedes for us with the Father. Though we all fail, and I know I fail Him in multiple ways, I trust that He is still working on me and that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are both interceding for me. Sometimes in spite of myself. God, help us all to grow and experience a love relationship with You, and may that those that don’t yet know You seek and find You. If we already have or claim to have one, help us to grow and develop that relationship deeper. Not for ourselves, but to be more Spirit-filled and be able to show Your love to the world. Amen. Comments are closed.
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July 2020
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