Last month we looked at the fact that “God is Love” and nothing can separate us from His love.

The next step is “How do we implement this into our lives?” 

It is nice to know God loves us, but how does it help us in our daily walk. To me, it is everything. The fact that I know God loves me spurs me on to be more like Him.

 

Let’s take the example of a parent-child relationship…..When a child is young they want to imitate their parents. They want to be just like them when they grow up. This desire continues until the child does not allow their love for their parent or their parent’s love for them to motivate them. When selfishness and rebellion kick in, the child does everything he/she can to not be like their parent. In spite of the fact that they say they love dad and mom, they seem to be on a quest to be different from their parents. (I am not opposed to children being different from their parents. I am referring to when it becomes a sort of crusade and is done with a bit of animosity.)

 

When we choose not to identify with our Heavenly Father and to doubt what His Word says about us, how He feels about us, we are like the child who is doing what he/she can to not be like their parents.

Today many of us are attempting to do it on our own by establishing our righteousness, rather than identifying with their Father and allowing His Word to make the difference in our lives.

 

Humans want to do it on their own. The problem is we can’t. Without the redemptive work of Christ, all the good we do is like filthy rags (Is. 64:6). So…..

How do we appropriate this love God has for us?

We embrace it. We realize we are unable to accomplish what is written in His Word and become all God created us to be, if we do not continually grow in the knowledge of God’s love for us. The more we are aware of and act on His love, the more we walk in it.

 

When we love somebody, our desire is to please that person. We do things they like to do, go where they want to go, dress the way they like us to dress…..Humanly speaking this isn’t always appropriate, but with God it is. He has our best in mind. His plan is to prosper us, not to harm us and to give us a hope and a future (Jer. 29:11-12).

 

Not only do we have difficulty believing God has our best interests at heart, but we do not want to be controlled by anyone or anything. The fact of the matter is we are either being controlled by the Holy Spirit or our sinful nature.

When we yield to the Holy Spirit, we are surrendering ourselves to the love of God. As we surrender to God’s love, we become more intimately acquainted with Him. The result is that others see God’s redemptive work in our lives. Love is on display and that is who God is!!!!