My prayer is that as Christians we would grow in that love as we go about our daily lives learning to be satisfied in the situations that God has placed us in, reading and trusting in God’s Word and promises, obeying His commands as a sign of our faith and always thanking Him for the gifts that he gives His children every day.
What characterises the life of a Christian? Your answer will largely depend on your experience. You may say that a Christian is characterised by following certain traditions, by obeying certain norms within Christian-culture. You may jump to actions and think about Bible reading, church attendance, prayer and other kinds of Christian disciplines. But at the very core being a Christian means following Jesus and becoming more like Him, it also means being characterised the love that we have been shown by God.
Love is one of the many things that should characterise the life of a Christian. I often speak about four the key ‘loves’ that should be seen in the life of every Christian and that should, we pray, be growing in our lives as individuals and as local churches. The four loves are; love the Lord, love His Word, love His people and love the lost.
But what does it practically look like to love the Lord and how can we grow in that love? We don’t have the space to unpack everything that loving the Lord means, but here are four key things I’d like to mention:
1. Being satisfied in Him
One of the passages that many Christians run to for encouragement and strength to face their day to day struggles is in Philippians 4:11-13, where Paul famously says “I can do all things through him who gives me strength”. That statement of faith and confidence in God is the reason Paul has contentment, the reason he is satisfied, because he knows Jesus and all the wonderful gifts God had given him. Paul in his time of need and troubles, of which there were many, reminded himself of the gospel and the grace of God that called him, saved him and sent him to share Jesus with others. We can be satisfied in God because He has given us the solution to our biggest need – our sin and separation from Him, God knows everything we need and His good plan for us will be fulfilled. Growing in our knowledge of who God is will mean that our satisfaction in Him grows.