Love God Part 1
Love is central to being a Christian.
Loving God and loving others is the way Jesus sums up the law.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.This is the first and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.”
Today’s episode is focusing on loving God.
Loving God is about putting God first. He is the most important thing in this whole world.
You may think the most important thing in this world might be your parents or food or feeling safe, but it’s not, because God is number 1.
He made you. He looks after you. He provides for you. God has the power to change it all in an instant.
Earth is not important. Once we die, life really starts. Make sure you’re going to the right place.
What do you think?
Imagine you are a toddler. You are 3 years old, your hands are sticky and you can’t see the kitchen sink. You do not have to do any jobs. You have no responsibilities, no homework, no chores, nothing relying on you. If you don’t feed your pet like mum asked, it gets done. Mum or dad do it. If you don’t pack a lunchbox, mum or dad do it. They pack everything you need for wherever you go. You don’t even have to get dressed by yourself or go to the toilet! You are called a “dependant” because you depend on others for everything.
Do you worry about anything? Are you worried about the electricity bill or the car rego running out? You might worry about mum or dad going away. Or about having to go to bed when you don’t want to. You are being totally looked after. You sleep well.
You trust your parents. They feed you, cuddle you and provide for all your needs.
Bible Passage: Exodus 20:2-6
"Do not worship any god except me.
Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. Don’t bow down and worship idols. I am the Lord your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me, I will punish your families for three or four generations. But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations."
God wants us to be dependant on him. He want us to have eyes only for him. Nothing else matters, nothing else is anywhere near important! Like a toddler who cares only for her parents, we are to look only to God.
Bible Passage: Matthew 18:1-5
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
Like a kid, need to come to God with nothing. Like a son or daughter, there is nothing we can give God to earn his love. He loves us no matter what. He wants us to come to him with utter trust and devotion, like a toddler to her parents.
Story Time!
When my older sister, Naomi was 3, she liked spending time with Dad, but he was often working. He had his office at home. She would wander into his office, hoping to be able to spend time with him.
One day when Dad was really busy, she came in and Dad offered her some paper and pens so she could do some drawing. She wasn’t interested. He offered her a range of other things to do but she wasn’t interested. So he asked her, “What do you want Naomi?”
She replied, “I want you.”
She just wanted him to stop what he was doing and pay her attention. She wanted him to look at her, talk with her, enjoy her.
This is exactly what God wants. He loves it when we serve him, and love others but he really just wants us.
God wants us to put everything aside and make him our priority. He wants us to stop what we are doing, pay him attention, look to God, talk with him and enjoy him.
Remember that Satan doesn’t want us to spend time with God. He will distract us, cause us to think that it’s boring or make us forget. We need to resist and come to God.
Question Time!
How do you think you can show love to God today?
How can we get into the habit of showing love to God every day?
