No one would want to be loved out of obligation. I think that's how everyone feels. You wouldn't want your husband to love you just because if he didn't you'd kill him. You wouldn't want your kids to love you just because if they didn't you'd punish them.
"Somehow we think God is different, as if he is pleased when we serve Him because we're required to. He's not."
Think about that.
My opinion is that a lot of us unknowingly do this. Why? Because I can't stress this enough, we are natrually works orientined. Example, what about helping at church? What if we are all required to help in the kitchen, and we do it, and its our good deed for the week? It doesn't count! What about if e commit to reading our bibles every day, but sometimes we're just not feeling it. Is he pleased we read our bible? If not out of love for him, Nope! You see everything we do must be wired to the love of God or it is worthless.
"Yet, Paul says, spiritual giftedness, doctrinal mastery, audacious faith, and radical obedience DO NOT EQUAL the only thing that actually matters to God--love for Him. Without love even the most radical devotion to God is of no value to him."
Wow. Let's look at that list. Spiritual gifts. Thats tricky. Our preaching gifts, our love for others, our compassion and mercy, without love for God, it doesn't mean anything. Our reading of the bible, our delving in to the word, our commitment to the bible, without love for God, it doesn't mean anything. Our going and telling the world about Christ, our willing to be a martyr, our confidince in him, without the love of God, it doesn't mean anything. And lastly, our willingless to follow him and whatever he commands, without the love of God, it doesn't mean anything.
The only thing that matters to God, is that you love him. And that everything you do stems out of your love for him. Looking at this we can see we fail! So remember we cannot think that ANYTHING we do, pleases God, unless we do it out of love for him.
This is where the gospel comes in, the book says. "The gospel, and the gospel alone has the power to produce the love of God in the heart."
Its the truth. You need the gospel to give you the love of God.
"Thus, if you are not where you should be spiritually, the answer is not simply to get busier for Jesus." I really like this statement because again, me and my behavior, pops up in my mind here. I think to myself. "Hey, wait. When I feel like I'm not doing well spiritually I do something. I get busier for Jesus." Why do I do that? Because I am a sinner. And naturally I think that if I did one tiny extra thing, I will be a smigon forgiven.
I'll close with this long paragraph. Make sure you read it carefully. It is encouraging, and warning. Its good to know.
"Always 'begin again' with the gospel. Abid in it; swim in it; make your home in it. See more and more of your life through it. Be absolutely convinced at every moment of every day of the goodness of God in your life. Thats the only way youll every really grow...........Obedience that does not flow from love ends up being drudergy-both to us and to God. The gospel turns that drudgery into delight. It changes us from being slaves who have to obey God to sons and daughters who want to obey God. Again, God is not just after obedience; He's after a whole new kind of obedience---an obedience that is filled with desire.
"In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make you love me more, and nothing I have done that could make you love me less." -JD Greear
~Hannah
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