Why You Need to Practice All Three - In That Order (by Joyce Meyer)
# 1 Loving God
In Deuteronomy 6:5 it says, And you shall love the Lord your God with all your (mind and) heart and with your entire being and with all your might. Later, in the New Testament, Jesus repeats this command and even points it out as the most important commandment of all (as well as loving your neigbor as yourself, but we'll get to that in a moment).
So how do you express love for God? By telling God, 'I love You"? Singing praises to Him? These are good things but they only scratch the surface.
We show God we love Him through obedience (ouch). Actions definitely speak louder than words. I believe our level of obedience grows as we get to know and experience His love, goodness and faithfulness in our lives. Our desire to follow and obey the Lord's commandments increases as we increase our love of God.
# 2 Loving Yourself
When Jesus talked about the greatest commandment of all, He quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and said we are to love God with all our heart. But He also added the second greatest commandment. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31).
I want to mention something important here that I think people often miss: You cannot give away something you don't have in you. How can someone love another person if they don't love themselves?
We all need to accept ourselves, embrace our personalities and even our imperfections, knowing that although we are not where we need to be, we are making progress- and thank God we are not where we used to be. Jesus died for us because we have weaknesses and imperfections, and we don't have to reject ourselves because of them. God wants us to love ourselves and enjoy how He's made us!
You see, God pours out His love and we are to receive it, and through it, learn to love ourselves in a balanced way. Without doing this, we can never progress in God's will for us, which is to love other people.
# 3 Loving Others
We know that we have passed over out of death into Life by the fact that we love the brethren (our fellow Christians) He who does not love abides (remains, is held and kept continually) in (spiritual) death.(1 John 3:14 - Amplified version)
Life, in this verse, is the life of God or "life as God has it." I don't want to be one of what I call "the walking dead" - someone who lives and breathes but never truly lives as God desires. You probably feel the same way. Loving others is the only way to keep the God-kind of life flowing through you. God's love has been given to us as a gift; it's in us, but we need to release it to others through words and actions. Left dormant, it will stagnate like a pool of water with no outlet.
The act of loving others is one of the most exhilarating things I have experienced. I feel excitement stirring in my spirit and soul when I plan to do something to make someone else feel loved and cared for. You can experience the same exhilaration just by 'loving out loud'.
Here's a challenge: Think of three people you know who could really use a gesture of God's love. Then think of some creative ways you can express His love to these people, and do it. I guarantee you will feel a wonderful sense of fulfillment and joy afterward.
HOW YOU CAN CONTINUE TO GROW IN LOVE
If you will devote yourself to developing your love walk in these three areas, you will experience a huge amount of blessing in your life. I encourage you to seek God about this and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow in your love toward Jesus, yourself and others. He will help you overcome anything that might hinder you in the process. Remember, God is love. And He loves you.
Book Suggestion: (Available where books are sold, or click book link)
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Excerpt from Enjoying Everyday Life , a Joyce Meyer Ministries Magazine (JMM), Nov 2011 issue
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