Do I Love God?

God's love for me is sometimes just unfathomable. It's bigger than my little head and heart can understand. How He could have such perfect love and grace for me is a mystery. I ask myself, what is it to love God? I strive to follow Him and serve Him, but what does it look like to love Him?
I John 5:2-3 says, "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not grievous."
How do I know if I love God? When I can keep His commandments and they are not grievous. Sometimes I think that God's commandments are my absolute delight. I strive to follow and keep them. Then a little covetousness will creep in, or a little idolatry. Suddenly, keeping His commandments becomes some type of uncomfortable work. I still try to obey the commandments, but now I'm just doing it because that's what I'm supposed to do, not because I love His law.
It's very easy to turn God's law into a rule book that will get me to heaven. But, if I lack the love for His commandments, then I am not loving Him, I am simply trying to earn the grace that is freely given to them that love Him.
When I embrace God's law and strive in His might to follow His word, not to earn myself a good seat in heaven, but because I love His law, then I am loving God. If you love your parents then their words of wisdom mean something to you. If they say don't do this, you will regret it later, you won't do it because you trust their wisdom. You love their words. It's the same with God.

I sometimes laugh at how people in love, especially girls, become so lost in the person they love that the other persons word becomes more valuable to them than anyone else's. In a way, for many people in love this becomes a problem when they drown out other people's wisdom and counsel, but what it my love for a perfect and holy God was that strong? What if my love and adoration for Him was so great that it didn't matter what others said, only what He said? What if His presence was the only presence I wanted to be in? What if every law and commandment He gave sounded like sweet protection and love?
After all, isn't that what it means to be lost in Christ?

These verses really made me think about my love for God. I had to ask myself if on a day to day basis I really love God. I want to love Him so much that my life becomes 100% dependent on Him and His love. The things of this world are so temporary, even love here on earth is often just temporary, but His love never fails. It never ends. It never goes away. I want to love Him the way He loves me.
So I ask,
Lord, help me to love you more.

The Love of God

I've been going through the Bible looking up the word love. I want to know what God's love is and what makes His love so much richer and deeper than mans. I've only read about half of the verses that actually have the word love in them, but I've already been very convicted.
I didn't expect to see a big difference between man's love and God's love. Of course, I know they're not the same, but really, isn't love...love? Not really.
I discovered that the verses which talk about man's love show that it is temporary, easily lost, often based on what someone else does for them rather than freely given. Saul used his daughter's and servant's love for David to persuade him to marry his daughter. Delilah used Samson's love for her to aid her in deceiving him. Amnon loved his sister until he had taken what he wanted and then he hated her. Even David in the Psalms would write the he loved the Lord because of something God did for him
However, God's love is unchanging, never ceasing and freely bestowed upon filthy, sinful human beings that have done NOTHING to deserve it. God loved His people even though they continually rejected Him. He sought out their love continually. Even when they turned away from Him, He reckoned with them and pulled them back to Himself, all the while knowing that they would again reject Him. Having a love for someone that great is humanly impossible! We just can't do it. Only God can have a deep, satisfying love that stretches through the depths and width of eternity. If only we would learn to cling to God's love rather than the love of the world.
It is so easy to go looking for love in all the wrong places. Human affection is deceiving and easy to get, but very often it is false and temporary. When we look for love in places other than God's arms, we will be hurt. Because let's face it, not even the best of human beings can love like God can. Even the strongest of Christians will let people down. It's in our sinful nature to do so. But God CAN work miracles in our hearts. He can teach us to love selflessly. And He can love us with the most tender and wonderful love imaginable.