Loving God is Hard

Loving God is not always easy, loving God is hard.  We show love to him through our obedience. He created us with one purpose in mind, to share his Love.  The trinity wanted to create out of love and to share that love.

It’s hard to obey and follow Christ when he’s asking us to love other people. YES, even that person that just flipped you off driving down the road. YES, the person that abused you. YES, those that attack you on social media or in person or talk about you poorly behind your back.

It’s hard to be a parent that is tired, frustrated to love a child that continues to cause arguments in your home and disrespect you. 

Jesus chose love!
Even when 1 of his closest friends (Judas) turned him in for money

Even when he was asked by his family to just quiet down and not cause such a fuss with the church leaders. 

He still went to the cross and became totally separated from God the Father, the one that he created with because he LOVED us, his creation!

He was God he could have said, forget it, you people are helpless! That would have been easy.

Sex does not equal loving someone

Getting everything you want or giving someone everything they think they want and need, is not showing them love.

The Bible and especially the Gospels are very very offensive! If you read them and they make you feel all warm and fuzzy all the time, reconsider.  The stories Jesus told in order to teach people were asking them and us to do things that naturally if left to ourselves we do not like to do.

Why don’t we want to be more like Jesus sometimes? Maybe it makes us feel like a weirdo, it’s uncomfortable, costs too much of our money (BTW it’s God’s money), people will say things about us, I’ll have to talk to that person that I don’t care for or hurt me, I’ll have to admit I was wrong and apologize.

TRUE LOVE is hard.  Think about good marriages and relationships in your life, it is work and prayer to keep those going.  We don’t always agree or see things the same way so we will argue and fight, but true love finds truth and doesn’t let these things divide and separate what God is making holy.

We are being divided now, so much arguing and hate.  This has to make our creator so sad, because it’s the opposite of why we were created! I’m sad and frustrated too. Are you?

Satan is just smiling at how easy we are making his job.  He hates human life, he’ll do anything to destroy it, distract it from God, keep it sick and miserable. He thought he could do better than God, better than the one who created him.  Where are you and I in our lives thinking the same thing, that we could do better than God?

I like order, this means I become controlling at times, with my health, home, kids, spouse, community. I sit and second guess my gut instinct and overthink and ponder.  I’m being disobedient! Satan is tricking me into thinking the Holy Spirit I feel in me is wrong so I should wait and research more or think of all the negative things that could happen.  I lack trust.  He is trying to put fear in me and fear is not from God.

Why is it so hard to trust a God that I know is good, loving and kind.  A loving father who in the Bible told us about the good fruit he plans for in our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5: 22-23)  I think ANYONE Christian or not would look at that list and think, “Yes, I think those are things I would like and like to see in the people in my life.”

I’m not afraid of what is going on everywhere, I’m ready to be strong and fight against the evil that is seeping out.  Evil is patient and is cunning (think of Hitler, Stalin)

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory of God (2 Corinthians 5:13). We are called to live a life for Christ and not for just ourselves. I’m learning to call out satan in the name of Jesus, because that’s the only way! I publicly declare the wrong and evil of satan to stay away from my family, friends, community, country, our leaders.  I declare healing, not limited to just physical, for all of God’s people (and that’s EVERYONE reading this)

I’m praying that those that don’t know the true love of God find it.  I can tell you what he’s done in my life and the freedom of it, but you have to find it in your life for yourself. Pray, pray and pray! It doesn’t have to be wordy or fancy.  Sometimes I just say “Jesus”, because my heart is hurting I don’t have the words and he knows me and knows what I need. He brings me comfort.

Loving God is hard, it doesn’t mean just going Sunday’s to a fun church with great music and “perfect” people. Yes,  it’s wonderful to get together with people to worship and study scripture and discuss the joys and concerns we all have and pray over all of it. But the real love comes Monday-Saturday at all hours of the day and it’s taking me a lifetime to put in to practice and it’s getting easier.

My 94 year old demented grandma Jean can’t remember who I am most of the time, it seems God has taken the painful memories that use to cause her much distress. But, she is often caught singing hymns and praising God randomly by nursing home staff and every time I visit her I see Jesus in her, the joy.  Each time she shares her words of encouragement about life and how good God has been to her. Words that when she was of sound mind I wouldn’t listen too because I thought I didn’t need that and it was annoying and she was crazy.

She had awful things in her life, an abusive spouse for 40 years, she lost her daughter suddenly (my mom when she was only 40), she lost another child in the last 10 years.  She suffered from fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis so bad she started sleeping in a recliner like 15 years ago.  Loving God is hard, when you go through ridiculous pain. You feel the opposite, that he doesn’t love you because you are suffering.

But she does not complain and she loves Jesus.  There were many many good things in her life too! She reminds me it’s all a part of life in a broken world.  God and his world are still good.

Loving God can be hard, but in the end he has placed eternity with him in all our hearts and that can help you do the hard things, love those difficult people and show mercy over and over again. It makes us courageous and unafraid because we know this physical life on Earth isn’t all there is. For those that love God and have declared Jesus their savior we will all be singing constant praise in Heaven when we leave Earth. I’m excited!

Don’t take my word for it, read the Bible for yourself, story after story of people who were disobedient, messed up majorly and he continued to welcome them with love when they confessed and turned back to him.

No one every said life would be easy or perfect but it is still very very good. Praise be to God!