Why Should We Love God?

Chuckle: Kid's answer to test question: "What is terminal illness? When you get sick at the airport."

Quote: "Love without returned love is like a question without an answer." --Unknown

Jesus said, "...love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy" (Mark 12:30 The Message). "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (NIV).

As we consider God's great gift who came into the world as the Babe of Bethlehem, we are once again reminded of God's indescribable love for us. That is as it should be; however, Scripture tells us that God's greatest desire is for us to love Him in return. We are reminded that what God wants from you more than anything else today is your love. But loving God is much more than just an emotion -- it is always demonstrated by our actions. God knew that merely telling us of His love would not be sufficient -- He had to show it by His actions. God's love for us was demonstrated by His sending Jesus to Earth. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son" (John 3:16).

As you look to the future, how will your actions show your love for our Lord? Will your actions include heartfelt worship, open conversation in prayer, and a mind attentive to His Word? Will you worship him by using your strength and abilities in His service? Please rejoice and draw great comfort from knowing that God loves you. But be obedient to God by obeying the Great Commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

This precious little story touched my heart. A four-year-old girl, hugging a doll in each of her pudgy little arms, looked wistfully up at her mother and said, "Mama, I love them and love them and love them, but they never love me back." How true of some Christians who are loved and loved and loved by God, but never love Him back." If we do not actively love God back, we have disobeyed the greatest commandment.

No matter what else we, let's pledge to show our love and gratitude for our God by our actions as we represent Him to others. Let's let our love for our Lord be plainly visible by the way we love others -- by the way we talk, act, and think. "There is no other commandment that ranks with these" (Mark. 12:31 NIV).

Love, Jerry & Dotse