“Do you love God?”
June 15, 2004
This is the question my good friend John asked me as we talked a few nights ago. It seems like a no-brainer. Do I love God?? Well…yes. It was odd when he first asked me - my first reaction was, “Where is he going with this…? Do I love God? Of course I do. I mean…crap, do I? How do I love God…but, I’m a Christian! Of COURSE I love God…I can’t NOT love God…right? Umm…” How does one answer this question? I tried to give a good answer: “Yah, I love God. I mean, I don’t always understand God, or like God, or the things God does…but…I love God.”
John doesn’t know how he would answer that question. And after talking with him, I’m not sure we can be so quick to answer that question either. Do we love God? How? How do we know we love God? There are way too many verses that say something like “If you obey my commands, then you love me” and “This is love for God; to obey his commands.” Umm, shit. Do I obey God’s commands? Nope. Not very often. So, what does that mean? Does that mean I don’t love God?
John and his dad had a great conversation about this, and his dad eventually said, “You know John, whenever you say ‘I love you dad’ when we’re talking on the phone, I’m always like, ‘Sure, yah, great…that’s nice.’ But when I see you loving other people, your siblings, your Young Life kids, anyone, that’s when it really hits me, and that’s when I know that you love me. When you love other people, I see and know your love for me.” John wonders (and I wonder right along with him) if when we say “God, I love you,” God’s not just like, “Yah, okay - great…but really, go out and love others and then I’ll really know your love.” Do I love God? I try to. I want to love God. But do I…?
Do you love God?
Tags: God, Love, Service
Posted in 
Adam Walker Cleaveland: 
June 16th, 2004 at 1:54 pm
check out 1 john 4:11-12, John seems to say that God’s love is completed in us when we love one another. It is brought to full expression.
On a side note, yes Jesus does say that if we love him, then we will obey His commandments, what other reason would there be to obey? Do I know what God’s commands are but don’t obey, then I might question the depth of love I have if I am not willing to sacrifice my own desires/rights for someone else.
June 16th, 2004 at 3:22 pm
i love this post.
my friend kim says that sometimes she feels more like a “fan” of Jesus. i can relate. what if i love the soundtrack, the t-shirt, the cool philosophical jesus feel and not exactly jesus himself. hmmmmmm….
everything would have to be different if we did.
July 14th, 2004 at 3:30 pm
wow, awesome post!
love God and love others! how else can we show God that we love HIM?!
May 8th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Yeah..and there’s the question…How do you show others that you love them?
May 9th, 2008 at 1:58 am
“We cannot know whether we love God, although there may be strong reasons for thinking so, but there can be no doubt about whether we love our neighbor or no.”
-St Teresa of Avila
“Love of God is the root, love of our neighbor the fruit of the Tree of Life. Neither can exist without the other, but the one is cause and the other effect.”
-William Temple, Readings in St. John’s Gospel
Found these quotes the other day, then today I read this post of yours from long ago.