Love and Death

There is a connection between these two realities, love and death.  They are connected on a level deeper than I can now comprehend.  It is a Divine mystery, one which I fully intend to search out.  How much does God love me, and how much can I love God?  I believe the answer to both questions lies in the extent of our embrace of death.

I believe there are two different types of death which we must learn to embrace, if we seek perfect love: His death and mine.  His is most important, but mine is just as important.  For you see, He loved me first.  But if I don’t love Him back, our love is non-existent.

We look to the cross then, the epicenter of Divine Death and Love.  God loved us so much that He died.  That is one thing I have not yet comprehended fully. Regardless, it is something Jesus invites us to partake of.  We must eat of the body that was broken for us and drink of the blood that was spilled.  We must embrace His death if we hope to love Him.

Next comes our death.  I’m not talking about a physical death; we could physically sacrifice  ourselves and the act be completely meaningless(see 1 Corinthians 13:3).  No, what I speak of is entirely spiritual.  You see, there’s a thing called “self,” and it’s something we must get rid of if we want to follow Jesus.  Every selfish desire must be laid down: every sin or distraction or dream that hinders love needs to die.

Don’t worry.  It may seem scary or unfair at first, but the blessings of God are infinitely better than any of our own worldly pursuits.  You miss nothing when you choose to love, to lay down your life for the sake of God and others.  You receive the greatest gift of all: an amazing relationship with your creator.

“Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.”–Psalm 116:15

Why Do I Love God?

I was just pondering this question the other day.  I was thinking about how God unconditionally loves me, and if I could do the same for Him.  He did die for me, after all.  It’s an amazing question, and one which I think everyone should should have to answer.  And are there right and wrong ways, right and wrong motives for loving God?  I wonder.

One of the first reasons that I thought of was that I am commanded to love God.  That’s very true(Duet. 6:5).  Although, I think it’s much more than that.  You see, God always commands us to do things that are good for us.  Following His commands shouldn’t be a chore, if we’ve received the heart of them.  And if love was just a command, it wouldn’t be a very deep love at all.

Anyway, we’re not under the bondage of the law anymore.  We’re under grace(Rom. 6:14).  With the new covenant created by Jesus’ death on the cross, we have grace, forgiveness and victory.  So, is that why I love God?  Do I love Him because He’s given me so many blessings?  Well, yeah, but I don’t love Him just for what He’s given me.  If that were the case, He’d just be buying my affections.  No one, especially God, would want that kind of shallow, one-sided love.  In addition, we’ll all have trials and suffering at some point.  If the benefits are the foundation of our love, it will quickly dissolve in those times.

No, our love for God should be very simple, I think.  It shouldn’t be out of a sense of obligation or legalism.  He is Love.  When you know who He is, I don’t think you can help it.  He’s very lovable.  I love God because I believe He is who He says He is.  He is God, and He is good.  He is the Lover, and I am His beloved.  We just love each other. I think it’s as simple as that.

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
–Hebrews 11:6