so many of us are hearing the word "love" tossed around so casually that it seems virtually meaningless: We love our spouse. We love baseball. We love television. We love hamburgers. And unfortunately, so many times when we talk about loving God, our love for Him as seen through our actions seems empty and dead. But His love for us as evidenced through His Son shows us both the depth of His love and what that love demands of us.
As much as we talk about "love" in sugary-sweet language, it can be easy to forget that sometimes God's love will seem as hard as steel. There are three instances in John 14 where Jesus says that if we love Him, we will obey His commands. But how many times do we find ourselves saying or thinking, "Well, yes, I'm a Christian, but..." and then end up doing nothing for the Lord? The spiritual "elite" of Jesus' day--the Pharisees, elders and chief priests--took the same approach. They were outwardly righteous but inwardly dead. They said they loved God so that people would think highly of them, but they had absolutely no spiritual fruit to show for it. Take a look at the parable Jesus told about them in Matthew 21:28-32:
Quote:
28"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'
29" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.
31"Which of the two did what his father wanted?"
"The first," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
How many of us say we love God yet refuse to do anything for Him? How many of us call ourselves Christ's followers yet we're neither following Him nor obeying Him? We want all the benefits of having people believe that we're Christians, but without any of the burden. But we forget that that's the real definition of hypocrisy. The real hypocrites aren't those of us who are struggling with sin even as we follow Christ. The real hypocrites are those of us who say we will follow Him then refuse to move an inch when He says to go. How many of us call ourselves Christians yet we're neither following nor serving Christ? If we're not obeying and serving Him, then we're not bringing forth any spiritual fruit, and if we're not bearing spiritual fruit, what does that make us? Dead wood. Jesus talks about dead wood in John 15--if it doesn't bear fruit, it's cut off and cast into the fire. But He gives us chance after chance to obey His call to us. If we really mean what we say about loving Him, are we following where He tells us to go and do what He tells us to do? Or are we just telling Him that we'll follow Him later, and gambling that "later" will come? And if we keep telling Him we'll obey Him and follow Him later, do we really love Him now?
But if this sounds like your life, remember that none of us who've found ourselves drifting far away from the Lord got there overnight. If it will help you begin to focus on Him more, post notes to yourself about the Lord--Bible verses, prayers, praises--in places where you will see them often. A lot of people put Bible verses on the dashboard of their car, on their mirrors or in other such places. (The note to myself that I've posted in several places says "SHUT UP AND PRAY!") Some of us may have been drifting, even running from the Lord, for a long time. But as long as we are willing to respond to His call to us, we might seem a thousand miles away from Him, but as soon as we start turning back to Him and keep on going back toward Him, He will take us back no matter how far away we've gone, as long as we're willing to return to Him.
How much do we love the Lord? I hope that our actions scream to the rest of the world that He is the center of our life. If you're not there yet, what will it take to get you there? And when are you going to start?
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About me
What Star Wars Jedi or Sith character is most like your personality?
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You scored as Obi-Wan Kenobi (Post Death of Qui-Gon Jinn)
You are most like Obi-Wan Kenobi, after the death of his master. You have a powerful prescence and take the natural role of a leader. You respect the wisdom of those to come before you and are always training for personal growth. You now train the lightsaber form Soresu, a near completely defensive form, after witnessing what you considered a fatal flaw in your master's technique when he fell to Darth Maul. Your offense is carefully precise. You devote your life to harmony achieved through The Force and are one of four Jedi to retain identity after death.
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Post Death of Qui-Gon Jinn)
100%
Yoda
93%
Qui-Gon Jinn
89%
Darth Revan
86%
Bastila Shan
86%
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Pre Death of Qui-Gon Jinn)
82%
Luke Skywalker
82%
Mace Windu
82%
Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus
68%
Exar Kun
64%
Darth Sidious
64%
Darth Maul
57%
Anakin Skywalker
50%
Darth Vader
43%
Size matters not, ... Look at me. Judge me by size, do you? Try not. Do or do not, there is no try. You must unlearn what you have learned." "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will..." "A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind." "Adventure. Heh! Excitement. Heh! A Jedi craves not these things." Master Yoda quote
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Heres a report about the GIJOE movie coming out next year, Hollywood brings the shame to this movie. They're redoing the whole GIJOE of the 60's making it more "Politically Correct" Now thats a shame to those who Served and are serving in the Military. Its a slap to the face, Now Hollywood better think twice before redoing the movie.
Size matters not, ... Look at me. Judge me by size, do you? Try not. Do or do not, there is no try. You must unlearn what you have learned." "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will..." "A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind." "Adventure. Heh! Excitement. Heh! A Jedi craves not these things." Master Yoda quote
