Topic: Do you Love God?
Bible Reading: Daniel 9-10; 2 John 1.
Memory Verse: “And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.” 2 John 1:6 (KJV).
Love is psychological drive and behaviour characterized by intimacy, passion, and commitment. It involves care, closeness, protectiveness, attraction, affection, and trust. Love for God, therefore, should involve closeness to God, caring for Him by caring for everyone and everything associated with Him, protecting them, showing affection to God and trusting Him.
So if you truly love God, you should desire God at all times. David said in Psalm 42:1-2 (KJV), “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. [2] My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” You should desire to be in His presence at all times.
Similarly, anything devoid of God will not attract you. Because of your love for Him, you will keep seeking Him everywhere and you will therefore not be contented with anything that does not have God in it. That is what Moses exhibited in Exodus 33:15 (KJV), “And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.”
If you are a lover of God, You will also hate anything that will separate you from Him. You will not like to be without Him in any situation. This is why Mary wept when she could not find the crucified Jesus. In John 20:11-13 (KJV), “But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, [12] And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. [13] And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.” And knowing that God is holy and will not be available where sin abounds, you will run away from sin and rather seek to please God always in order to avoid His absence. Thus the Psalmist says in Psalm 119:128 (KJV), “Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.”
Everywhere you go, you will keep talking about Him and you will try to speak about Him to everyone you come across extolling his features. This is why Apostle Paul could not stop talking about Jesus even when he was stoned and taken for dead because of Him. When he woke up, he still kept talking about him. In Acts 14:19-22 (KJV), “And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. [20] Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. [21] And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, [22] Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” Thus, you will be ready to suffer for Him just as Paul did because your soul is completely tied to your love for Him. This is explicitly stated in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (KJV) that love “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” And this means you will be obedient to Him so as to remain in His will. This is what John captured in 2 John 1:6 (KJV), “And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.”
Action point:
Examine your love for God and make amendments where necessary to improve your intimacy with Him.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero