Have you ever been told to love someone who, quite frankly, wasn’t that loveable? Sometimes we encounter people that are a chore to love: a co-worker who isn’t a team player, a relative who is abusive, or a neighbor who is just plain mean. But what about God? How do you feel when Jesus tells you that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your being? Does that feel like a chore too?
For many, sadly the answer is “yes.” For them, the image of God as a loving parent who is selfishly devoted to serving and protecting his people has been tarnished. How, you ask? By depictions of God as an old out of touch relic, or as a judgmental overlord asking for our devotion and money while giving nothing in return. If that was the image of God I believed in, I would find it a chore to love him too!
Gratefully, that’s not the image of God I carry in my heart. Jesus has revealed God to be a loving God, willing to sacrifice everything for the salvation of his children. And because this is the image I carry, loving God isn’t a chore, it’s a joy.
This Sunday, as we continue to journey of coming alive in the Spirit of God, we will polish up our image of God and consider how the Spirit of Love leads us in Loving God. I hope you’ll join us for worship at 10:00 a.m. online or in person.
