Why do we love God?

Reading through the news the past few days has not been a pleasant experience. Before our eyes, we have watched men, women, and children gasp for air as poison shut down their bodies. We have witnessed the aftermath of suicide bombings carried out by ISIS on men, women, and children during the beginning of the Holy Week in Egypt. ISIS stated, “Christians are our favorite prey.” With so much pain, suffering, and death unfolding in front of us the weight of humanity’s depravity is often too overwhelming to comprehend. Our world is broken.

Why do we love God?

How has your week been? Has your boss been treating you with unsurpassed respect, have your children been angels sent from heaven, have the relationships you are in gone unhindered by jealousy, hurt feelings, and bitterness? These statements are probably far from the truth for you and me.

Why do we love God?

This morning I read Psalm 116, and with the news cycle and my personal life in mind, I was met with a few thoughts that I would like to share with you.

Psalm 116, “I love the Lord because…”

• Even in the midst of turmoil, God is still gracious and merciful
• God has saved us, this is the bountiful gift He offers to us, “You have delivered my soul from death”
• For the Christian, even in death, God is glorified

The response to these truths from the Psalmist, which should inform our response, is that I will give myself and all I have to Him and for the purpose of sharing with the world, who God is and that He has a rescue plan for humanity.

Any Gospel that tells you that life will get easier if you choose Christ is a false one. Christianity is not the guarantee of personal, economic, political, or social prosperity nor will it give unprecedented protection from the evils of this world. At least not while we are all here experiencing this sin-torn world. Victory is not ultimate until Christ comes again to set all things right.

So, why do I love God?

I love God because He saved me from a life without hope and meaning. He snatched up the fear of death because He defeated death and promises life after, that does not have to be feared. For those of us who have faith in Christ, we can live in the freedom of the Gospel. His plan is amazing, and it is the answer to the pain and suffering our world is facing. All is not lost. Evil will not win.

Why do you love God?

How will you respond?

If you have ever watched any of the videos, FailArmy puts out you know that we live in a world with crazy people. There is something about craziness, and an unusual taste for risk-taking that draws many of us in, at the very least, to be spectators of someone else’s risk taking. From SpaceX and their mad pursuit of modern space travel, those that risk theirs lives to climb Mt Everest, to a guy named Walt who thought it would be a good idea to build multiple theme parks on some Florida swampland. As people there is just something about the adrenaline rush, we get when attempting great things.

There is an element to this that is the most important. No one risks anything with the hope of failing; instead, there is faith in the science, the gear, the economy, etc.

We all have faith in something:

• Athletes talk about having faith in their teammates
• Some people put their faith in government and its policies
• we often have faith in ourselves and our efforts

Faith is something that even if we don’t talk about it, we have faith in something, or several things.

Faith is: 

fāTH/ 1. complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

In Matthew 17:14-21 we see Jesus talk about faith with His disciples. Jesus is presented with the request to heal an epileptic, demon possessed boy. It is shared with Jesus that His disciples were unable to heal the boy. After Jesus heals, he turns His focus to the disciples. He described to them their problem of “little faith” and told them that all they needed was “faith like a grain of mustard seed.” This comparison seems confusing at first glance; little faith vs. small faith. But what Jesus was saying to them was vastly more impactful and is also what we need to hear.

The disciples “little faith” was focused on themselves, and they assumed that since they had performed these type of miracles before, that they could again. Their focus was on the gift and not on the power of God.

But Jesus then talks about faith and the amount needed for great things to happen. “Faith the size of a mustard seed.” This small amount of faith leads to nothing being impossible. Jesus is speaking metaphorically here; we are not going to be shifting mountains around. But the impact of a small amount of faith in God can lead to greater things.

What Jesus is trying to help His disciples understand, and what we also must understand, is that faith in God and what He is doing through Christ can change the lives of people, including our own. The physical healing was not the ultimate need, but what Jesus was about to do on the cross was what would bring about ultimate healing and change.

It’s easy to look at these verses and expect that with a little more faith we can do something amazing. We cannot coerce God into anything. The reality is, through faith in God we can participate in the transformative work of the Gospel. We can take part in the most transformative, healing work ever to touch humanity. This is the incredible impact of mustard seed faith!

But often we do not want this kind of change enough to lead us to faith or action of our faith. Often we do not think about the weight of realizing our friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors as dead souls headed to eternal separation from God. We are hindered more readily by our fear of being treated like the fool, laughed at, being left out, and embarrassment. Initially, the disciple’s faith failed because it was more about themselves rather than exercising their God-given gifts to bring Him glory. So we must ask ourselves the question, what am I doing with my faith? We aren’t called to go around healing people, but we are called to reach people with Christ and disciple them.

If we believed in the Gospel, and the power it has to change people from the inside out, then we wouldn’t hesitate to share it. We would constantly be looking for opportunities to share how Christ is relevant to us every day. But are we willing to take the crazy leap of faith in God and His mission?

Take this Easter season as an excellent opportunity to reach out to your neighbor and invite them to a service or special event that your local church might be having. Start putting action to your crazy faith, not so you can feel better or more accomplished, but so that God receives glory through His Son’s name being proclaimed to those that need Him most!