Love
It is a Choice
 |
Love is a choice
A choice to draw near
You and I have a choice to draw as close to God as we want
God does not like distance between Him and us, but He allows it
He wants you to love Him because you want to, not because you have to
James 4:8 says, Come near to God and He will come near to you.
God will not get any closer to you than you want Him to
James tells us God gives more grace, this is God’s invitation, His welcome to us
We should remember God does not force you to change, it is your choice
In the same way we should not force God to change
God has demonstrated His love, it is perfect
The changes we need to make to draw near to God
Are the very things that will give us the greatest freedom
God gives you freedom to be the most evil person
Or, the most loving & good person
You have the choice to love God or hate God
Although He is always trying to win your love, He will not force you into it
Love is a choice
It is a Choice
Like most people, when I
was a boy, I loved animals.
I loved spending my time down by the ditch.
Or, in the field.
When I got the opportunity to
be at a lake, I was next to heaven.
I was always on the lookout
for anything that moved.
I was always bringing home turtles, frogs and toads.
Snakes were a real treat to find and catch.
In the fields, I loved to catch praying
mantis, caterpillars and big spiders.
We lived in a small two bedroom home.
My two brothers shared a bedroom with me.
Because there was very little space,
I kept my treasures on the
end of my bed in a shoe box.
One night I woke up to this feeling of things
crawling all over my face and body.
After screaming and jumping all over
everywhere, someone turned on the light.
In my shoe box at the end of the bed was
a praying mantis egg and it had hatched.
I was covered from head to toe with
hundreds of baby praying mantis.
I loved my gold fish so much I could not
help myself from reaching in the bowl
and catching them to pet them.
I wanted to show them how much I loved them…
Only to find them dead a few hours later.
One time our grandparents took us to Secor Park.
I had a ball in the ditch all day.
I caught crayfish and frogs.
When it was time to go home I was thinking
of the cool habitat I would make for them.
My grandfather saw me coming with my
new friends and said I had to let them go.
I was upset and said…
“But I love them”.
My grandfather said…
“If you love them, you will let them go
where they can live freely in their environment.”
I loved my grandfather and did what he said…
But I was not too happy about it.
So what is love?
Love is a choice.
Love is never love when forced.
I loved animals…
But my love wanted to control them.
When I think of God’s love it has
always come with a freedom of choice.
In The Garden…
God could have controlled Adam and Eve.
He could have cut down the Tree
of Good and Evil, or guarded it.
But Adam and Eve were given
the choice to obey and love God.
John 14:15 says…
"If you love me,
you will obey what I command.”
God does give commands and
those commands are for our good.
What is so interesting is He
does not force us to do anything.
He just says…
“If you love me…”
Love is always about choices.
Sadly, I was insecure when dating Sandy.
Although she loved me I would
manipulate her to control her love.
Because she loved me she would
do the things I asked her to do.
Like go fishing at night when rats
and other scary creatures came out.
I though she liked fishing…
But after we got married, I could not understand
why she did not want to go fishing.
Sandy showed love even
though I did not understand it.
I still think she would enjoy life more
if she would go fishing with me.
It is so important to know that…
God so loved the World.
John 3:16
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
God’s love does not stop when we sin.
God’s love does not manipulate
us to do what we don’t want to do.
But love does change us.
If we truly love, we look for
the best for the people we love.
My love for Sandy has changed
over the 49 years I have known her.
That change has given both of us
greater freedom and desire to love.
There is a difference between
manipulating and earning love.
God want’s your love…
And He does not want to
manipulate you to love Him.
From the beginning of creation,
God has tried to earn your love.
He has given us everything
we need for life and godliness.
Love is a choice.
A choice to draw near.
You and I have a choice to
draw as close to God as we want.
God does not like distance
between Him and us…
But He allows it.
He wants you to love Him
because you want to…
Not because you have to.
James 4:8 says…
Come near to God and
he will come near to you.
God will not get any closer
to you than you want Him to.
James tells us God gives more grace,
more favor…
This is God’s invitation,
His welcome to us.
We should remember God does not
force you to change, it is your choice.
In the same way we should
not force God to change.
God has demonstrated His Love…
It is perfect.
The changes we need to make,
to draw near to God…
Are the very things that will
give us the greatest freedom.
God gives you the freedom to be the most evil
person or the most loving and good person.
You have the choice to love God or hate God.
Although He is always trying to win your love…
He will not force you into it.
Love is a choice.
Scripture Reading
James 4:6-10 NIV
6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
No comments:
Post a Comment