Faith & Emotons (Part 2)

The two commandments above all the rest are to love God and to love others. The commandments are stated in Luke 10:27, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself." Both commandments involve an emotional response.

I have taught that love is not an emotion but an action. Recently I have come to realize I was wrong. Loving God is more than an action. Loving God is more than keeping a list of rules. Jumping through a series of hoops or checking off a list of do’s and don’ts is not loving God the way he wants to be loved. As Christians we love to boast that Christianity is not a religion but a relationship. That is a true statement but the Lord has shown me that this is more rhetoric than reality.

Many of us have loved God with our mind. We accept the fact that he sent Jesus to die in our place. We believe that He is Holy and we are not but do we really love God with all our heart and with all our soul? Those words seem to depict something more than logic or reason.

The church at Ephesus was chastised for leaving their first love. We could learn from their mistake. I believe even more representative of today’s church was the church at Laodicea because they were lukewarm. People going through the motions but lacking the passion and power to affect the world around them.

What does it mean to love God then? There is no question obedience is a part of loving God, “If you love me keep my commandments.” However, duty and obligation will not bring about the deep connection that God desires. Dutiful love robs the church of its power and influence. The world sees right through this façade.

Loving God is like loving anyone else. We must get up close and personal. We must spend time together. David was a great example of a guy who wasn’t afraid to show his emotions. He was also one who loved God passionately. As you read the words of David take notice of his emotional involvement.

Ps. 77:1-3, “I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint.

Ps. 27:4 (MSG), “I'm asking God for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I'll contemplate his beauty; I'll study at his feet.”

Also in the Psalms you will read about a real passion for God.

Ps. 42:1-2, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

Ps. 84:2, “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”

In the NT, Mary is another example of emotional involvement. Mary choose the better thing – not to be up serving Jesus but to sit down and enjoy Jesus. Martha came from a place of duty and her premiere emotion ended up being jealousy. Mary was in a place where her motivation was an emotional love.