Loved

[JJB]

Do you feel more loved by God when he makes much of you; or when you are free to make much of him?

Explain your answer. Thanks in Advance.

 

[BarbB]

Wow, I'm first!

I feel most loved when I am free to worship him free-ly. When I pray and feel him close by; when my prayers are answered. When he allows me to love him with abandon!

 

[calmcoolandelected]

Wow, I'm first!

I feel most loved when I am free to worship him free-ly. When I pray and feel him close by; when my prayers are answered. When he allows me to love him with abandon!

Amen, Sister!

CC&E

 

[Margim]

I can't actually say I 'feel loved' by God at all, although I believe that I am.

I sometimes have nice feelings, which I can thank God for, but equally, I'd have to acknowledge that when things are tougher, the same God in the universe allows that too.

I can recognise God's love, but 'feeling' it doesn't seem an accurate way to describe my faith.

 

[nephilimiyr]

Do you feel more loved by God when he makes much of you; or when you are free to make much of him?

Explain your answer. Thanks in Advance.

This is actually a great question and wonderful idea for a poll!

I voted for I feel more love when I make much of Him. The reasons are many but let me start with what Jesus said in Luke 9.

Luke 9:23-26, Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

I know God does make much of us. We're His children and He loves us and wants to bless us with many things. He certainly made much of Job to satan: Job 1:8, And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
But it was Job being God's servant that made God speak of him. It was the fact that Job was an upright man and feared God and hated evil that caused God to bless him and make something out of Job. Yet was all the blessings that God poured upon Job the reason why Job felt loved by God? I think that's true but only to a point.

What was one of the things Jesus said about love?
John 15:13, Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

For me personally I feel and experience the love of God when I am able to deny myself, when I am willing to forget about myself and my needs and wants. The Gospel isn't about what I may recieve but what I can give and much of the time whenever God blesses you it's for the purpose that you may be a blessing for others. It truely is more blessed to give than to recieve.

Luke 14:27, And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
This present generation has rarely been taught how to lay down their life and pick up their cross and follow Jesus. The message is usually how to recieve a blessing from the Lord. Does God want to bless us, Yes; does he want to heal us, Yes, but Christianity is not about us it's about Him. It's about identifying with the cross of Calvary and partaking of it. If you don't pick up your cross daily and deny yourself, even your own life then whatever you may recieve from the Lord means nothing and is worthless!

 

[stumpjumper]

I voted other. I don't think we would be able to love God without God first loving us...

I don't think the selfishness of our hearts would make much ado about God if we were not already loved as sinners...

 

[Asinner]

I voted other. I don't think we would be able to love God without God first loving us...

I don't think the selfishness of our hearts would make much ado about God if we were not already loved as sinners...

So true!

God Bless

 

[JJB]

I can't actually say I 'feel loved' by God at all, although I believe that I am.

I sometimes have nice feelings, which I can thank God for, but equally, I'd have to acknowledge that when things are tougher, the same God in the universe allows that too.

I can recognise God's love, but 'feeling' it doesn't seem an accurate way to describe my faith.

Feelings can be quite fickle, can't they? Praise God that he tells us through His Word that we are loved! That way we know, even if our feelings are different.

Thanks for taking the poll.

 

[JJB]

Wow, I'm first!

I feel most loved when I am free to worship him free-ly. When I pray and feel him close by; when my prayers are answered. When he allows me to love him with abandon!

Thanks for voting, Barb, and getting the ball rolling -- even if it's a tiny one.

 

[JJB]

This is actually a great question and wonderful idea for a poll!

I voted for I feel more love when I make much of Him. The reasons are many but let me start with what Jesus said in Luke 9.

Luke 9:23-26, Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

I know God does make much of us. We're His children and He loves us and wants to bless us with many things. He certainly made much of Job to satan: Job 1:8, And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
But it was Job being God's servant that made God speak of him. It was the fact that Job was an upright man and feared God and hated evil that caused God to bless him and make something out of Job. Yet was all the blessings that God poured upon Job the reason why Job felt loved by God? I think that's true but only to a point.

What was one of the things Jesus said about love?
John 15:13, Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

For me personally I feel and experience the love of God when I am able to deny myself, when I am willing to forget about myself and my needs and wants. The Gospel isn't about what I may recieve but what I can give and much of the time whenever God blesses you it's for the purpose that you may be a blessing for others. It truely is more blessed to give than to recieve.

Luke 14:27, And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
This present generation has rarely been taught how to lay down their life and pick up their cross and follow Jesus. The message is usually how to recieve a blessing from the Lord. Does God want to bless us, Yes; does he want to heal us, Yes, but Christianity is not about us it's about Him. It's about identifying with the cross of Calvary and partaking of it. If you don't pick up your cross daily and deny yourself, even your own life then whatever you may recieve from the Lord means nothing and is worthless!

Thank you for voting, Neph. What a wonderful post!

 

[JJB]

I voted other. I don't think we would be able to love God without God first loving us...

I don't think the selfishness of our hearts would make much ado about God if we were not already loved as sinners...

I agree that God is the cause of our love for Him. Thanks for voting, Stumpjumper.

 

[JJB]

So true!

God Bless

Thanks for voting, Asinner. We love because God first loved us!

 

[JJB]

Amen, Sister!

CC&E

Thanks for voting, cc&e. Barb's post are always enlightening!

 

[CoolWater]

The very definition of love is that it is reciprocal. Meaning, love must be given and accepted by both parties. Any healthy relationship (even with infant and mother) love flows between the two involved. This does seem obvious, I know, but I really think that it is easy to confuse love with something else, like compassion or selfishness-- both of which are uni-directional instead of bi-directional.

 

[JJB]

The very definition of love is that it is reciprocal. Meaning, love must be given and accepted by both parties. Any healthy relationship (even with infant and mother) love flows between the two involved. This does seem obvious, I know, but I really think that it is easy to confuse love with something else, like compassion or selfishness-- both of which are uni-directional instead of bi-directional.

Thanks for voting in the poll, CoolWater.

Have you heard of unrequited love? THat is a love that is not reciprocal.

God does love sinners, he decided to save us while we were yet sinners, or enemies, of His. He also extends His grace to all living while on earth -- even the atheists and those who would destroy Him, if they could.