Today’s blog post brought to you by Ian and Sue Coate of FreeChristianIllustrations.com
It would be foolish to say we love a person we had never met – only a love-struck individual, in love with being in love, would make such a claim. True, we may see someone outwardly and be instantly attracted, but only when we get to know the inner-person are we in a position to say whether or not we love them.
The best way of getting to know someone is through personal communication and spending time in each other’s company. Only then do we truly learn who they are. Before that point we can only say we love the ‘idea’ of that person.
When we first become a Christian it would be impulsive to say we love God when we know next-to-nothing about Him. True, we may be instantly attracted to His magnificence, His power and the graceful things He has done and is doing on our behalf. However, until we learn about His character and His beliefs, we are simply love-struck Christians who quickly declare undying love for a Person we know little about.
We get to know God through communication. He talks to us through the Bible (His Word which is alive and powerful). If we study, we soon learn about His core character and His beliefs. We also get to know God by working with Him (Christian service), talking with Him (prayer), and relaxing with Him (faith in God to solve our problems).
As with all successful relationships, it’s about each party getting to know the other. Omniscient God already knows everything about us (and amazingly still loves us). He has graciously given us an eternity to get to know Him. And, as we come to know Him, it will soon become evident that God is a perfect candidate for our personal, unreserved and everlasting love.
My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:18)