OUR LOVE FOR GOD

By A. W. Tozer

Let us not love in word, neither in tongue;
but in deed and in truth.            -- 1John 3:18

    The taking over of the romantic love ideal into our
relation to  God  has  been  extremely  injurious  to
our Christian lives. The idea that we should "fall in love"
with God is ignoble, unscriptural, unworthy of us and
certainly does no honor to the Most High God!

    We do not come to love God by a sudden emotional
visitation.  Love for God  results from repentance,
amendment of life and a fixed determination to love Him.
Then as God moves more perfectly into the focus of our
hearts, our love for Him may indeed rise and swell within
us till like a flood it sweeps everything before it.

    But we should not wait for this intensity of feeling. We are
not responsible to feel, but we are responsible to love, and
true spiritual love begins in the will.  We should set our
hearts to love God supremely, however cold or hard they
may seem to be, and go on to confirm our love by happy
and careful obedience to His Word.

    Enjoyable emotions are sure to follow!
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Yours in Christ,
Paul N.