Loving God With Our Whole Life

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Scripture: Psalm 63:1-4
 1    O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2     So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3     Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4     So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
Meditation:
            The psalmist here gives us some beautiful words regarding his affection for God. I don’t know about you but I have met very few people (including myself) whose affection for God is this obvious. I think it in our day and age it is simply not cool to love God like this.
            When we do meet someone who loves God this passionately we are likely to brand them as fanatics or somehow find them creepy. Yet the psalmist is unafraid of what we think of him. His love for God is all out, no holds barred, and unashamed.
            I desire to love God that way. But I know I’m going to need lots of help. My desire for approval of others will get in the way. My nature as an introvert will keep me from some expressions of my love for God. But I feel I must push ahead toward this goal of loving God on a higher and deeper level.
            I will need others to walk with me on this journey toward the complete love of God as revealed in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Those who are not ashamed or frightened by loving God in this way because loving God this way is bound to be a dangerous thing.
            Jesus loved us this way. He didn’t win any prizes for it. He was rewarded with cruel mistreatment and death on a cross like a common criminal. We can hardly expect any better. Society will never understand a life given in complete devotion to God. But God calls us to that life anyway. Let us pray that God would help us to live this way!

Prayer:

            O God I pray that you would remove a lukewarm spirit from our lives. Give us hearts that are on fire for you and for your kingdom. Let all that we are be devoted to your service. Help a watching world understand that this love is a free gift from you. Open their hearts to receive this love which you  would give them. In the name of Jesus, Amen. 

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