When we enter into a deeper understanding of God’s love for us, it triggers a response. The most obvious is that our love for Jesus grows. We understand better what He did for us. We understand better the sacrificial love of the Father needed to give His Son to redeem us. We understand the critical connection we have to God through the gift of His Spirit in our lives. We love the Holy Spirit and acknowledge Him as a Person within the Holy Trinity. We love the Father, and see Him as our Abba. We grow into an intimate, abiding relationship with God through this process.
But it doesn’t stop there
unless we stop it.
This love for God that we have for Him and He has for us then works its way into our world and we begin to love others in radical “God-like” ways. This happens because He is loving others through us as if we are along for the ride. This is an outgrowth of a thankful spirit that grows within us. This thankfulness unleashes dammed up worship and expression that must be released, and it is released to the people in our lives and points them to Christ.
I said that we can
stop
this process. It happens all the time and the key reason is self-centeredness. God has created a holy flow of His love from Him to us and through us. If we take it in and do not allow it to flow through our lives to others, stagnation occurs and self-centeredness is fed. The key to breaking this self-centered dam in our life is to love God and to love others as we love our self.
“And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””
Mark 12:30-31 NKJV