Training Pastors Worldwide

Loving God. The greatest commandment. And the second is love our neighbor. You can’t do the second without doing the first. If fact, I think we are so ignorant of how to do the first that most of the time we make sure to include the seond and give instruction on it. So, let’s back up and ask ourselves, “What does it mean to love God? How do we do it? What does it feel like?” Joe Carter nails it with his article on enjoying God. Short and pointed and truly true. And it does answer the question, “What does it mean to love God?” Here are Joe’s words,

“‘What does it mean to enjoy God?’

That’s a great question I received today. It’s also one of the most important since we are commanded to enjoy God (Phil. 3:1), and glorifying and enjoying God is the reason he made us.

As with most things about God, we can increase our understanding by thinking analogically. God is a person, so we should expect to enjoy him in much the same way we would a human person.

How would we enjoy a person that meant the most to us? Some examples include:

*We’d enjoy being in their presence and spending time with them.

*We’d enjoy getting to know them more.

*We’d enjoy talking to them and hearing from them, such as through written communication.

*We’d enjoy thinking about them.

*We’d enjoy the things they create for us.

*We’d enjoy the gifts they give us.

*We’d enjoy and appreciate the things they’ve done for us.

*We’d enjoy doing things that make them happy.

*We’d enjoy spending time with those who share our appreciation and passion for them.

These are just a few of the ways our enjoyment of another human is similar to the way we enjoy God.

God is infinitely greater than any human being, of course, so there are considerable differences between enjoying God and enjoying a friend or spouse. But the difference is mostly a matter of degree—the extent and depth of our enjoyment—rather than a difference in the kind of enjoyment.

Another key difference is that God has the ability to increase our capacity for enjoying him and to grow our ability to delight in him. And since that is the reason he created us, he’s always eager to help us to enjoy him more—all we have to do is ask.”

Don’t leave the Lion of Judah out of your Covid calculus. He is the equation. He is the sum. He is moving; He has plans; He is arranging things for your good; He is preparing to come; He is using Covid for His purposes, Ephesians 1:11. The Lion works everything after the counsel of His will.

“They say Aslan is on the move – perhaps has already landed. And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it has some enormous meaning- either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.”

C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #2)