Do you really love the Lord?

Introduction

One of the most important truths we can put into action is that God is glorified when we honour Him in our daily lives. This honour is a reflection of the love we have for Him, not only because of all He has done for us, but also for who He is. Whatever we do, our aim ought to be to glorify God by the way we do it, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). This means our aim is to do everything in a way that reveals how much we love God. Christ should satisfy our hearts, so that others may recognise that He is truly our Lord, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst”  (John 6:35).

Honouring God

The glory of bread is that it satisfies us. The glory of water is that it quenches our thirst. A mountain stream does not need us to take buckets of water from our taps to replenish it, nor does God need us to satisfy Him. It is He that fills us with His supply so that we can live the Christian life, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Because of this the Lord ought to be our daily delight, for in this way we show that we love Him, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:3-5).

Unfortunately most people have been taught that duty, not delight, is the way to glorify God. Those who follow the pathway of religious duty are saying to the world that God does not satisfy their every need. Being satisfied in God is not an optional add-on but the real essence of the Christian’s life. If we truly love the One who loves us then it is our delight to serve and honour Him. "Serve the LORD with gladness" (Psalm 100:2) ... "Rejoice in the Lord alway" (Philippians 4:4).

The gifts or the glory of God?

It is our prayer that our family, friends and neighbours come to know that God’s “lovingkindness is better than life” (Psalm 63:3). If it is better than life itself then it is far better than all that life in this world offers. This means that what satisfies are not the gifts of God, but the glory of God; the glory of His love, the glory of His power, the glory of His wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

It is no wonder then that the psalmist cried out, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” (Psalm 73:25-26). Nothing on earth, none of God's good gifts of creation, can satisfy our hearts. Only God can. This is what David meant when he said to the Lord, “O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee” (Psalm 16:2).

God-centred lives

The psalmist teaches us by his own God-centred longings that God's gifts of health, wealth, and prosperity do not satisfy. Only God can satisfy the soul of man, “O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14). Of course, we must thank the Lord for all the blessings He pours into our lives, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2), but it would be idolatry to call the gladness we get from them, love for God. When David said to the Lord, “in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11), he meant that nearness to God himself is the only all-satisfying experience in his everyday life.

It is not for God's gifts that David yearned when he said, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:1-2). What David wanted to daily experience was a revelation of the power and the glory of God: “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. (Psalm 63:1-2). Only God will satisfy a heart like David's, and David was a man after God's own heart (see Acts 13:22). That is the way we were created to be.

This is the essence of what it means to love God - to be satisfied in Him. Loving God does include obeying all His commands, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15); it does include believing all His Word and thanking Him for all His gifts; but the essence of loving God is found in those who honour Him for who He is. It is being satisfied with God that glorifies Him.

Conclusion

Do we feel honoured by the love of those who serve us out of duty or from the delights of Christian fellowship? So it is with God, He is glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. None of us has arrived at perfect satisfaction in God yet. How often we become saddened and grieved at the loss of worldly comforts and possessions, but we have tasted that “the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8). By God's grace we now know the fountain of everlasting joy, and so desire to bring others into the same blessing, “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).

© 27 June 2007