You love Him because He first loved you

   In the book of Matthew, Jesus says “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” That means that every day when you wake up, think on Him. Keep His word hidden in your heart and meditate on Him. But most importantly to love God with all your heart, soul and mind you need to love your neighbor as yourself. John says that if you claim to love God and you hate your brother, you are a liar and the truth is not in you. So, first to love God with all your heart, soul and mind you need to remove hate from all aspects of your life otherwise you are considered as a murderer.

   Second, you must love Him with the love He gave you. Know God as your lover and friend. Love Him with the inner part of you, because your flesh and bone cannot love God. Your mouth cannot declare your love for God unless your spirit declares it first. The ultimate truth is that God loves you with an extraordinary love. You may have friends and family who love you very much, but their love cannot come close to the love that God has for you. To most, God sits upon His throne in Heaven and does not care about the affairs of His creation but that is a lie. God cares deeply for you and everything you do and until you understand that you cannot love God.

   Now, you need to understand pain and suffering. Many people abandon their faith in God for that reason. In 1851 Charles Darwin abandoned faith in God when his daughter Anne became sick. No one wants to go through pain and everyone expects God to do something about their pain. The truth is that sometimes God sends suffering and pain your way but it’s not to harm you, it’s to perfect you. Another reason for pain and suffering is free will. God is love and His love gives freedom. Because of the freedom given to us, we make wrong decisions that bring suffering on us. Sometimes, other people such as family and friends make wrong choices that will affect your life immediately.

   The main reason for pain and suffering is to bring about strength. The pressure is there for purification. You are gold but you are dirty. Others passed you by as if you were trash. Some laughed in your face. But God reached down His hand one day and picked you up. He saw the worth within you that was hidden. He’s beginning to mold you into a new creation. Hebrews 12:6 says, For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth (discipline), and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. He’s taking His chisel and cutting off pieces of you that are not in His vision. He’s taking the fire and burning away all your impurities. It’s not easy and it will hurt; you will cry but just remember that God is not through with you yet. If you just hold on to His unchanging hand, one day your pain and suffering will be no more. But for now, you need endurance.

   No one said that the race would be easy. No one said that you wouldn’t be persecuted or laughed at. No one said that you wouldn’t fall down. All you have to do in this race is run with patience. It’s a long journey so you need to endure. It doesn’t take two years for God to purify you. It may take decades, so you just have to hold on. And while He’s molding you, you need to thank Him for who He is. Truly, He has been good and He still loves you even though He’s taking you through the fire. Isaiah 43 tells us that we will go through the fire but we will not be burned. You will feel the flames but you will not be consumed. God will be with you in the fire and in the storm. He has never left you and He will never leave you. The pain is just for a season so hold on.

   Jesus is God in the flesh. In John 10:30, He says “I and my father are one.” Concerning Jesus, Paul tells the Colossians (2:9) that “…In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Jesus came down from His throne and He died for your sins because He loves you. He was bruised for our transgressions and crushed for our sins. He was beaten, mocked, and spit upon for you. When He was on the cross, you were on His mind. Although your sins hung Him there, He loves you just the same.

   What you need to understand is that you are His creation; you are His child. As a father, Jesus will do anything for His children. You are precious in His sight. You are gold in His sight. He wants you and He will do anything to get you – that’s why He died. And if you still don’t accept Him then, He will send suffering and pain your way to get you to yield to Him. It’s the same as someone shooting you in your foot, so that you won’t walk into damnation. Jesus wants to save you from the hands of the devil, but you’re walking right to the devil so Jesus sends pain so that you turn around.

   It is true love that a man would die for His creation. There is no other love greater than the love of God. When you understand that, then you can love God. Then with the love that God has shown towards you, you can truly love others. But no one can love another, except they love God because God is love.