Did you know that the closer you are to God, the more you love people? The Apostle John says in I John 4:16-17:” GOD IS LOVE. WHOEVER LIVES IN LOVE LIVES IN GOD, AND GOD IN HIM. IN THIS WAY, LOVE IS MADE COMPLETE AMONG US.” That is very profound. When you live close to God, you find your love increasing.
It’s like when you hang around someone who’s really good at what they do. If you hang around with a great athlete, you’ll find yourself thinking about sports, eating better, exercising more, working to get better at one or more sports. If you hang around a focused businessperson, you’ll find yourself thinking about setting and achieving goals, being more productive, taking advantage of opportunities as they come your way. If you hang around a mom, you’ll find yourself noticing her children, thinking about their welfare. Greatness is contagious. If you hang around it, it’ll rub off on you.
God’s love is so great that if you live close to Him, you will find yourself becoming more like Him, valuing what He values, acting like He acts. When you get close to God, you will find yourself becoming more loving, and that’s the key to all relationships.
So, how do you get close to God?
Very simple: you hang out with Him, just like you’d hang out with any other friend. You talk to Him, you invite Him to go with you during your day. You come to church, because this is where the rest of God’s friends hang out, and when you’re close friends, you start to hang out with your close friend’s friends.
One of my favorite authors is Chuck Colson. I read everything from him I can get my hands on because in him and what he have to say. The same is true with God’s friends. God’s friends try to read everything He’s written. According to the Christian faith, everything that God has written has come to us in this book (the Bible.) Maybe the easiest way I have found to hang out with God is to read what He’s written and then to think about it or talk about it with Him. The more I read this book, the more His thoughts become my thoughts, and the more His thoughts become my thoughts, the closer I feel to Him. The closer I feel to Him, the more my love increases — yes, for Him, for my children and friends, and acquaintances, and people I don’t even know.
The Apostle John says, “God is love.” Not, “God has love,” but, “God is love.” My friends, you cannot give what you do not have. God is love. If you have Him, you have love. If you do not have Him, you only think you have love because God not only has not only cornered the market on love, God is the market when it comes to love.
So, let’s all remember that. The more you know God, the better you will love people. Amen and Amen! – Pastor Rob Pesola