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How do I know ?
A while ago i was put in a position where i had to explain my Christianity to a non-christian, and being my first time, it didnt go so well.. i was mostly disturbed with my answer when he asked whyy i chose to be christian. I told him that it was to reach eternal life.
Although that is our objective as Christians, it shouldn't be the reason we choose to follow the Lord. We follow Him because we LOVE Him, because He gave Himself up for our sins.
Eversince I told my answer, I could not figure out why LOVE wasn't the first thing that came to mind.. and today God opened my eyes.
I had a rather selfish approach to things.. My relationship with God is based on mee, the reason I am Christian is so that I dont end up in eternal suffering. With the knew knowledge that i had gained.. there was another very important question that needed an answer..
Do i REALLY love God with myy alll ??
I searched & searched but I coudn't find an answer.. How do I know that i really LOVEE God & that that's the reason I obey His word ???
Although that is our objective as Christians, it shouldn't be the reason we choose to follow the Lord. We follow Him because we LOVE Him, because He gave Himself up for our sins.
Eversince I told my answer, I could not figure out why LOVE wasn't the first thing that came to mind.. and today God opened my eyes.
I had a rather selfish approach to things.. My relationship with God is based on mee, the reason I am Christian is so that I dont end up in eternal suffering. With the knew knowledge that i had gained.. there was another very important question that needed an answer..
Do i REALLY love God with myy alll ??
I searched & searched but I coudn't find an answer.. How do I know that i really LOVEE God & that that's the reason I obey His word ???
Comments
ok there are 3 times of LOVE..
1.one out of FEaR.. i only love u becuase i dont get punished...this is regarded a person with the thirty fold...
2. the second type of love is a give and receive: lord ill give u this if u do this for me...or ill pray if u do this..
this is regarded as the person with the 60 fold..
and the third type 3. the full love...no m,atter what u are going thru you will love him..not out of condemnation and not out of being rewarded BUT becuaseu truly love him..whether He gives you wat u want or not...
(that is the man with 100 fold)
NOW we understand that we have to analyse..
questions to ask yourself...
which type of love do i have
which type do i want...
how can i get there..
what will help me get there
who will help me
just think about it..
see where u are going wrong..
and then when u do achieve it that u realise that u are not doing it out of getting a reward..eternal life but becuase u TRULY love him...and that eternal life is a REWARD u get from loving him..
lol np hun
explain further please ?
well ...
u must first lleave that guy alone and then you will sorta feel free then you must explore your self becuse i can garantee that there will be more people like that so you should prepare yourself for that...
no do what i said...explr yourself..and REACH the 100 fold stage...like SERIOUSLY reach it...
and then WHEN U COME ACROSS SOMETHING LIKE THAT again..when he asks you...whyare u chrisitan SUBCONSIOUSLY (telka ee) uwill tell him.. im chrisitan becasue I LOVE him...and so many wonderfull things will come out of that mouth of urs//WITHOUT realising it..
ok bak to ur question..how do u know if its true love..well u answered ur own question..i was asked..AND AALL U COULD THINK OF WAS THE REWARD!!as that is what u feel ...full stop.. so look above and change urself..and then full stop what u feel will come out of ur mouth..until u reach that stage will u preach it...
hmm sorry for ebing harsh..but hope u know ehere i am coming from..and it aint targeted at u....imma just sayen generally :-[
ii think iim on my way.. realising what the problem was is the first step. && THANK GODD that ii did realise iit cause my spiritual life would always just go up up up , reach a spot.. and come back down. i think that that was caused by my shallow & superficial christianity.
Now that i think about it.. God sent me the same message s00ooo many times.. i just never heard it. I wonder how many other things im ignoring..
well iim gonna need LOTZ of prayer and start over with everything! things will be so much easier to do onnce i want to do them .
PLEEZ PRAY FOR ME ! as yuu can see.. ii s0oo totally need iit !
thx heaps 'why'!
There is a couple of books that deal with not exactly this issue, but another issue intimately time up with loving God selflessly. The main book is called the Philokalia, and it deals with prayer, especially prayer without ceasing, and covers other aspects of the spiritual life. It is compendium of writings of the early Church Fathers. The other is a Russian book that serves as an introduction to the Philokalia, and that is called "The Way of the Pilgrim." The second part, called "The Pilgim Continues his Way" deals with issues like love of God and Love of neighbor, and why going through the mechanics of reciting prayers and reading scripture is not enough, but how one goes beyond that to make oneself a true and pure vessel of the Holy Spirit.
"The Way of the Pilgrim" is easy to come by (be sure it has both parts, though), and is a fairly quick read. The Philokalia is harder, and it is usually deemed better if one has help to navigate it (it is five volumes, 300-400 pages a volume).
Of course, as with everything in the spiritual life, one should seek the advise of his spiritual father, pastor, or confessor first and foremost when dealing with these rather intimate and difficult obstacles in the spiritual journey.
In Christ,
Adam
thankyu :)
I think by asking the question and searching for the answer to "Do I love GOD with my all?"
you really have answered your own question!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If u are constantly searching for mays and means to get closer to him then u do love him with your ALL?
If u didnt love him you wouldnt be worried about the answer.
I think by asking the question and searching for the answer to "Do I love GOD with my all?"
you really have answered your own question!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If u are constantly searching for mays and means to get closer to him then u do love him with your ALL?
If u didnt love him you wouldnt be worried about the answer.
thx for all yur help guys :)
what would i do without you.. ?
and then when u do achieve it that u realise that u are not doing it out of getting a reward..eternal life but becuase u TRULY love him...and that eternal life is a REWARD u get from loving him..
lol np hun
Well, if one loves God in order to recieve the eternal reward of his life in Heaven will that person at least recieve his eternal life in Heaven even if he does not reach the level of truly loving God with the expectation of recieving nothing back which recieves 100 fold? Why said that when a person reaches the level of loving God to the point that one recieves the eternal reward for loving God instead of loving God for the eternal reward, and I agree with Why, I was just wondering if a person does not love God to this point but loves God just to recieve his/her eternal life in Heaven will this person at least recieve his/her eternal life in Heaven for loving God just to this point? Will God give him his eternal life in Heaven just for loving Him to this point?
Please pray for me always,
Believer in God
Please pray for me always,
Believer in God
Ok my first reply is to Hizz_Child.
Do me a favor... Close your eyes.... close your eyes and think of one thing... look inside your heart, what do you see? The feeling of loving God for him and not his rewards is a feeling ineffable... literally ineffable, no words can explain it. Nothing I can say will help you obtain this feeling... except I tell you pray... not a formal prayer, no... Sit with God as a friend... as your beloved... as the king of your heart, the soul of your eyes, "roh ene'ke"...
I deeply recommend you to read "God and Nothing Else" by His Holiness. I cannot talk about it enough... it is a awesome book...
Believer in God I answer your question with a question. Would you want to be friends with someone who gave you what you wanted so they could get something in return? God is so loving that it breaks his heart that you don't love him because of his merciful heart. Will this person get into heaven? Nobody can answer that, because only God is the Just Judge...
1 John 4
17Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
19We love him, because he first loved us.
FROM
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 john 4;&version=9;
I think its okay to become a christian just to escape hell
(To become a christian we must put our trust in Jesus Christ..We must trust He can save us from hell because He died for us.. ..right?)
The fact that Christ died for us should make us love Him..
We must grow to love Him more everyday...
LOL ofcourse i dont mind ! lol.. iits easier if its here coz its on the same topic..
Christ4Life,
WOW ! very touching & tru :)
Meena_Ameen,
thats beautiful ! i hope to get to that stage one day ;D
where can we get this book?
Believer in God I answer your question with a question. Would you want to be friends with someone who gave you what you wanted so they could get something in return? God is so loving that it breaks his heart that you don't love him because of his merciful heart. Will this person get into heaven? Nobody can answer that, because only God is the Just Judge...
If this was the case, then what is the thirty fold that these people recieve as Why has mentioned? Am I interpreting something wrong? Please forgive me my brothers and sisters because I truly desire to live with the Lord and desire to know His truth. It is just that for some reason I am hard-hearted about it. Continue to fight me and my ideas until I know the truth of God.
Please pray for me always,
Believer in God
[quote author=Christ4Life link=board=1;threadid=4437;start=15#msg61454 date=1159756263]
Believer in God I answer your question with a question. Would you want to be friends with someone who gave you what you wanted so they could get something in return? God is so loving that it breaks his heart that you don't love him because of his merciful heart. Will this person get into heaven? Nobody can answer that, because only God is the Just Judge...
If this was the case, then what is the thirty fold that these people recieve as Why has mentioned? Am I interpreting something wrong? Please forgive me my brothers and sisters because I truly desire to live with the Lord and desire to know His truth. It is just that for some reason I am hard-hearted about it. Continue to fight me and my ideas until I know the truth of God.
Please pray for me always,
Believer in God
we all are in one way or another.
"I deeply recommend you to read "God and Nothing Else" by His Holiness."
where can we get this book?
Any church bookstore should have it.
Why where did you hear this thirty fold, one hundred fold stuff?
I guess the thirty fold they receive is that they are willing to give as well as take.
well hizz child here let me go again...( iwrote this up but it was accidently deleted)..lol and ur right next to me...
ok there are 3 times of LOVE..
1.one out of FEaR.. i only love u becuase i dont get punished...this is regarded a person with the thirty fold...
2. the second type of love is a give and receive: lord ill give u this if u do this for me...or ill pray if u do this..
this is regarded as the person with the 60 fold..
and the third type 3. the full love...no m,atter what u are going thru you will love him..not out of condemnation and not out of being rewarded BUT becuaseu truly love him..whether He gives you wat u want or not...
(that is the man with 100 fold)
NOW we understand that we have to analyse..
questions to ask yourself...
which type of love do i have
which type do i want...
how can i get there..
what will help me get there
who will help me
just think about it..
see where u are going wrong..
and then when u do achieve it that u realise that u are not doing it out of getting a reward..eternal life but becuase u TRULY love him...and that eternal life is a REWARD u get from loving him..
lol np hun