We Need To Fall In Love

You know what we need to do, if we haven't already? We need to fall in love. Not with another human. Not with a hobby. Not with a job. Not with food. Not with any person or thing on or of the earth we typically use the phrase "I'm in love with..." whether it is rightly applied or not. We need to fall in love with the one who loves us so much, he gave his only son so our relationship with him could be restored. We need to fall in love with the one who loves us so much that he willing suffered and died on a cross so that we might be saved if we put our faith in him. We need to fall in love with our great and glorious God, creator of the universe, and author of life.

Why? The answer is simple. He deserves it simply because he is God. Period. We need no greater reason, not that there is one. He loves us so much, has given us so much, and offers us so much more, its incredible.

But what do we do so often? Take his blessings for granted. Take credit for the good he does through us or for the gifts he has giving us. Call stuff "ours" instead of his. Claim control over "our" lives instead of acknowledging his sovereignty. Pick and choose which parts of his word we want to hear and follow without giving it full authority in our lives. Show up to church once a week, sing a few songs, listen to a message, and walk out of there maybe feeling uplifted, maybe feeling entertained, but not really feeling the joy of a full life that God Almighty has to offer us. Not really getting it.

Shame on us whenever we do crap like that.

The first and greatest commandment is to love the LORD with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength. We're supposed to love God with everything we got, not just our leftovers. God doesn't want lukewarm, half hearted love. God wants our best.

Our best starts with acknowledging who he is, and who we are compared to him. Our best starts with giving his word authority in our lives and following it. Jesus said "if you love me, you will keep my commandments". If we say we love God but don't do what his word says, living like the world, we are liars who don't really love God or know him. This means repentance. This means not sleeping with your boyfriend/girlfriend before getting married. This means not getting drunk. This means not gossiping about others. This means controlling our anger and our tongues. This means forgiving when we are wronged and not holding grudges against others. This means putting Christ at the center of our lives, making him Lord as well as Savior -- you can't have the latter without the former.

So if we're not putting God's word in its proper place of authority in our lives, and if we have not repented of our sins and turned away from the fully into the waiting arms of Jesus Christ, what should we do with these other things? Don't bother, until we get right with God. If we're not deeply in love with him and showing it, he doesn't want our half baked offerings and worship songs that amount to lies. He doesn't want our service that means nothing without a real relationship with him. What he wants is us, fully and completely. Let's give him THAT, first.

Grace and Peace brothers, sisters, friends.