Why do you love God?

 

It may seem like a strange question, but you can ask it about a lot of things. Why do you love your wife or husband? Why do you love your job? Why do you love summer time? I was studying the book of Ephesians this morning and this verse stuck in my mind. 

"With the Lord's authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives ecause they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity." (Ephesians 4:17-19)

That last sentence got me thinking about how selfish we are. I am not sure about other cultures, but I know here in the United States we live life for OUR pleasure and OUR benefit. We might say, "I love this country because I am free to live as I want." We might say, "I love my job because I make a lot of money." Most of our reasoning focuses on how WE feel. That is exactly as the Gentiles, or the Greeks, were living in the first century. They were obsessed with sex and doing things that made them feel good. They would abuse women and young boys, and they thought nothing of others. Things haven't changed a lot. 

So, why do you love God? Is it because of what you get from God? Do you only love him because you now can live for eternity? Do you love him out of fear? Why do you love God? 

I hope we all get to the point where we can love God because of who he is. I hope we can change our attitudes and our hearts from take, take, take, to give, give, give. God loves us regardless of what we can do for him or the sin in our lives. He is good all the time and he is faithful. He invites us even in our weakness to a deep relationship with him, not out of obligation, not because of the consequences of not loving him, he just wants us. He created us specifically to be in relationship with him. God wants us to remove all selfish attitudes to focus on Him and treating others with love, kindness, and patience is a direct result of our loving Him. Love God because of who he is!

"And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:30-32)

Getting rid of selfish actions like anger, harsh words, slander and evil behavior is the first step to truly loving God. Replacing those selfish actions with being kind to each other, tenderhearted, and forgiving, is God's greatest desire for us.