Loving God

The BC Lions came up with a 29-10 win on Saturday! It was such a strange game though...18 of our points came from field goals. Neither one of the teams made a touchdown until the 4th quarter. Definitely a defensive game. Richard played well! He made one tackle. But he didn't play near as much as he had hoped to. We're not sure, but we think the coaches were being cautious b/c of his leg just recovering and they were playing the #1 team, so they needed all the players to 100%. But we are so grateful that he got to travel with the team, play his first professional game, get a tackle, and come home with a win! :)

While he was gone this weekend, I started reading a book that my landlady lent me. It's called Loving God by Charles Colson. It was written in the early 80's, so I'd never heard of it, but I figured it would be a good way to pass time. As I mentioned in a previous post, I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I'm only half-way through Loving God but these books share similar concepts (which isn't hard to tell from their titles).

Through both of these books, I feel like God is opening my eyes to a better understanding of what it means to LOVE Him. Yes, I believe in Him, but am I loving Him. I've come to realize that if you truly LOVE God, your life has to be fruitful. (no brainer, huh?) As I think about that, I'm convicted by the lack of fruit I see in my life. Now, I know that we don't always see the fruit in our lives. We don't necessarily see how our prayers for others affect them or how encouraging words uplift someone or how a small conversation can change someone's life. But some fruit can be seen. Am I serving others? Am I being generous with my finances? Are my words tearing down or building up? Am I loving "the least of these"? Do I treat others as if they were Christ? Am I being Christ to others? Is God's Word on my mouth? Am I sharing the gospel with those I encounter?

Ephesians 2:8,9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Praise God for His grace! But James 2:26 says, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." Our faith in God must produce deeds! Loving God is an action!

I don't want to live my life as a "Christian" just to have the benefit of heaven. I want to follow Him closely in this life, love him deeply, serve him well, and proclaim Him to those who don't know Him because He is a Holy God worthy of praise, glory, and honor. I want others to see Christ in me and desire to know Him because of the work they see Him doing in me. I pray for that kind of fruit in my life. I pray that I grow to LOVE (as an action) God more and not just believe in Him.

How are you loving God?