Bible Question:
please tell how do i love Jehovah as stated in Deut 6...where or how do i start??? and i am not refering to the love that i have seen expressed by so called christians in the past, not lip service, remember what Yeshua said in Matthew 15:8,9... This is all i see of christian love...Please advise....thank you,' fred |
Bible Answer: I feel that I am supposed to answer your question because I was preaching on this topic yesterday. Love is not something that we can create. It is a gift from God so we can't keep the commandment unless God enables us to do so. We need to admit that our righteousness is as filthy rags, that we are incapable of sincerely loving God unless he enables us and that we deserve the death penalty for our sins. This is not popular these days and no self-righteous person can ever keep this commandment. Somewhere Paul says: "What do you you have that you were not given and if you were given it why do you boast about it as if you were not?" (my own rough paraphrase). We can't create love but we can choose to nurture or neglect the love that God has given us. Five things that I asked of my congregation yesterday were: to love God's people and meet with them regularly to love God's word (the bible) and read it often and eagerly to love God's work and to serve him whereever and whenever you can to love to spend time with God in prayer and to love to spend time with God in worship. From what you say you need to start with the first one. I know that so many Christians are not easy to love but get used to it - you are going to spend eternity with them! Again it is Paul who says: "Who are we to criticise another man's servant? It is to God that he stands or Falls and Stand he will because God is able to make him stand." (again my poor paraphrase) As you love the unlovely christians that God brings accross your path and as you realise that from God's perspective you are just as unlovely (there is no difference in God's sight) you start to see how much God has given you and that will help you to love the God who loves unlovely people like us. God Bless, Mark. |