Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)
Two days ago, I wrote about knowing God’s will, based on Romans 12:1-2. One of the keys of God’s will is self-sacrifice, becoming a living sacrifice. Today, we’re looking at another key passage on God’s will. God’s will is to love. We are to love God… first, foremost, and totally. That means He comes before anyone else, including self, family, and friends. What He says, goes, period. This doesn’t mean that one can’t or shouldn’t argue with God. We have plenty of Scripture in which people do argue with God, and He is known to give in on some things. My favorite story about this is the story of the Syrophoenician woman with the possessed daughter, who ignores Jesus’ various expressions of “No” several times and is granted her desire as a result. That’s why when people post stuff about “When God closes a door,” my response is, “try it and see if it’s locked.” Another favorite is the story of the paralytic whose friends let him down through the ceiling. If the door is locked (or blocked), think-outside-the-box. But, if you’re going to argue with God, Scripture suggests that the best way to do so is with Scripture, and with an understanding of who God truly is – rather than with statements that put us in His place.
This is why I take some of the philosophical and socio-political positions I do. What I see in Scripture is that God has declared some things to be wrong, and some to be right. If I decide that what a person says is more true than what Scripture has said, how is that loving GOD with all my heart, soul, and mind? I’m not permitted to tell PEOPLE that they are wrong, but I am required to tell God that HE is? It doesn’t so much matter to me, except that Scripture speaks against some things, and for others.
We live in an era in which love of God is only found among a few. It’s a Victorian age, in which one doesn’t do this, doesn’t say that, doesn’t associate with those who are “beneath” one. Someone once said the way to avoid mediocrity is to “Observe the masses and do the opposite.” I can't say that my love for God is all it should be, but that is a good place to start. What "the world" says is right, is wrong.
Two days ago, I wrote about knowing God’s will, based on Romans 12:1-2. One of the keys of God’s will is self-sacrifice, becoming a living sacrifice. Today, we’re looking at another key passage on God’s will. God’s will is to love. We are to love God… first, foremost, and totally. That means He comes before anyone else, including self, family, and friends. What He says, goes, period. This doesn’t mean that one can’t or shouldn’t argue with God. We have plenty of Scripture in which people do argue with God, and He is known to give in on some things. My favorite story about this is the story of the Syrophoenician woman with the possessed daughter, who ignores Jesus’ various expressions of “No” several times and is granted her desire as a result. That’s why when people post stuff about “When God closes a door,” my response is, “try it and see if it’s locked.” Another favorite is the story of the paralytic whose friends let him down through the ceiling. If the door is locked (or blocked), think-outside-the-box. But, if you’re going to argue with God, Scripture suggests that the best way to do so is with Scripture, and with an understanding of who God truly is – rather than with statements that put us in His place.
This is why I take some of the philosophical and socio-political positions I do. What I see in Scripture is that God has declared some things to be wrong, and some to be right. If I decide that what a person says is more true than what Scripture has said, how is that loving GOD with all my heart, soul, and mind? I’m not permitted to tell PEOPLE that they are wrong, but I am required to tell God that HE is? It doesn’t so much matter to me, except that Scripture speaks against some things, and for others.
We live in an era in which love of God is only found among a few. It’s a Victorian age, in which one doesn’t do this, doesn’t say that, doesn’t associate with those who are “beneath” one. Someone once said the way to avoid mediocrity is to “Observe the masses and do the opposite.” I can't say that my love for God is all it should be, but that is a good place to start. What "the world" says is right, is wrong.
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