Love God, Love People

The phrase, "Love God, love people" has been showing up virtually everywhere I look of late. It is the primary topic of the Love Does book by Bob Goff. It was the main topic of the sermon this past week at SoAcres Church. And it pervades some of the daily devotional and blog pages I read.

Not that I want to "jump on a bandwagon" for jumping sake, but when the message is so vital as "Love God, love people," who am I to miss out on an opportunity? Besides, if this message is coming at me so frequently, it means God wants me to learn it AND act on its message.

So, what does Love God, love people look like?

That, my friends, is the hardest part of the entire message. Loving God is the easiest part of the task. He loves me, and proved it by coming to earth to be like me in order to save me. While there are many, many people in the world who refuse to accept the overwhelming evidence supporting the validity of the Bible; the truth is, God came to earth to provide a path of redemption for His beloved children.

So, if this evidence is so overwhelming, why do people miss it? How are people still refuting, in their minds at least, the story of love God shares through His word? Why do people simply choose not to believe?

It all comes down to one thing. People are blinded. In I Corinthians 2:10-13, Paul writes: 

"The Spirit, not content to flit around on the surface, dives into the depths of God, and brings out what God planned all along. Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he's thinking, but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. We don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions. We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way." (The Message)

People are not able to understand God without the working of the Holy Spirit. However, for some reason that is far too deep for me to cover here in today's blog post, God only shares the Holy Spirit with those who have first accepted Him. Time and time again throughout scriptures the Spirit of God descends on those who have already accepted Him.

So how does a world blinded to the truths of God have hope? Through the love of the people who have accepted God's gift of grace. 

When we accept God's freely given gift of salvation, we are covered in God's grace. And because so much has been forgiven, our hearts long to share with those around us, especially those we love the most, just what God has done in our lives.

However, just like the new car wears down, just like last year's electronics are forgotten and placed on a shelf, just like our shoes and clothes wear out; so does our love for God. Unless we renew it every day.

I love my iPhone. I was a "hater" when the iPhone first came out. And when I finally went to the world of "smart phones," I started with a Samsung product, followed by a Blackberry product. It wasn't until four years after the iPhone was on the market that I finally purchased one.

And now I can't imagine what took me so long.

I use it every day, so many times every day in fact, I can't even guess at how much usage I get from my iPhone. It has become a part of me, and if I lost it or broke it, I would immediately go out and replace it.

That is how God should be in our life. If you connected with God as often each day as you connect with your smart phone, what would your life look like to those around you?

I mentioned Bob Goff at the beginning of this post. Bob is an infectious guy. In a comment I read about him, someone said he must drink a lot of energy drinks prior to going on stage because he has so much excitement when he speaks. If you want a better understanding, look at Bob's profile picture on Twitter.

I don't think it is artificial energy, I believe Bob is so connected to the Holy Spirit, he just exudes the energy of God.

And as Bob spills God all over the place, love is spilled. Because God is love.

Loving people is hard, but if we connect with God daily (that is why love God is listed first), God's love will spill out of us and we will love people.

Simply dialing a prayer in the morning, simply reading a devotional or passage of scripture in the morning, simply saying "grace" over our meals is not connecting with God. Well it is, but it is not sufficient for us to become covered in God's scent. The only way we can be covered in God is to roll around with Him, to really be in His presence.

So today, each time you grab your smart phone, take some time to also reach for God. And every day from now on as you reach for your phone, also reach for God. In a few days you will begin to "smell" like God.

And when you do, then God's love will leak out of you and onto others. And when you love people, they begin to understand who God is and how much He loves them.

Love God, love people.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. And I really want to hear your stories of how you grew in your love for God and how that love spilled out onto other people.