Love God, Love Others

One of the primary commands in the Bible is to love God with everything we are.

How do you love a person you can't see or touch? (I have a hard enough time loving people that I can see!)

Well, if we really grasp how much God has done for us through Jesus, we will return that love. Our joy and appreciation will start flowing back out toward God. But, since he isn't here in physical form to hug or thank personally, how do we go about it?

There are lots of ways to express love directly to God. We can pray, expressing our gratitude to him in words and the emotions that go with those words. We can meditate on his word (which means reading it first, of course) and letting the majesty of his ways and his thoughts boggle our minds yet one more time. We can give offerings proportionate to the financial blessings he has given us.

It says in Hebrews 6:10 "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them." IOW, that when we love his children, we're really loving him. Why is that true?

Here's a human example: Joanne and I have some dear friends who have small children. When we give gifts to the two munchkins, we're really loving Charles and Susi too -- and they know it. (You can also see Matthew 25:40, for another thought on this principle.)

Wherever you are today, there will most likely be other people somewhere around you. Those are the people God has put into your path to love in his name. By loving them, you're loving him. By loving them, you're thanking him for loving you.

Suggestion: ask God how you can love him today by loving each of the people you meet. What do you think will happen?