He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command.” (Matthew 22:37-38.)
When my boys were little and they were punished for doing something wrong, they would occasionally say, “You don’t love me”. This was not true, and I would explain to them the importance of being obedient and that my love for them had not changed.
As adults, there are times in our lives when we might feel like God does not love us. But this is not true. Henry Blackaby writes in his book, Experiencing God “People who struggle to spend time with God, don’t have a scheduling problem, they have a love problem” (p.59).
In whatever relationship we have with others, when we spend time with them, we not only get to know them more, but we also desire to be with them more and we develop a deep love for them. In our relationship with God, the more time we spend with him, the more we will experience his vast, deep love and the more we will love him.
But love is not just a one-way street. God is pursuing a loving relationship with us. God takes the initiative. He chooses us, loves us, and reveals his eternal purposes for our lives. A love relationship with God is personal and practical. God is a Person pouring His life into yours. Christianity is a personal, progressive, practical relationship with God. Ask God to bring you into the kind of relationship he desires for you (Blackaby p. 61).
God’s presence is always with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8). God’s love is deep and wide (Ephesians 3:18-19) and it never runs out! Like the shepherd who goes out to find the one lost sheep, Jesus will pursue you with his love until you find him.
You are not alone in this life. You are LOVED by a God whose love has no boundaries. Keep pursuing him because he continues to pursue you and when you meet, His love will overwhelm you and your life will be changed!
Praising God from whom all blessings flow!
Chaplain Val