Experiencing God's Presence #105

So be very careful to love the LORD your God.

Joshua 23:11

Many are familiar with “love languages”—the idea that each of us has a preferred mode of receiving love from others. Love languages include spending quality time together, physical touch, receiving gifts, acts of service, and words of affirmation. We understand the affections of others when they are expressed through one of these means.

What we often don’t realize is that God has love languages too. He enjoys words of affirmation (praise), receiving gifts (offerings), acts of service (obedience), quality time (prayer/meditation), and even physical touch. The last in the list may be a little difficult for us to express—though Jesus surely enjoyed John’s leaning against Him at the Last Supper, and the Father surely enjoys our savoring the physical gifts He gives us—but God receives love in much the same ways we do. He even tells us how to express love to Him. Scripture is full of instructions about how to give to Him, speak to Him, and serve Him. God has made His desires clear.

All of our expressions of love—praise, offerings, obedience, conversations with Him, and longings for sensory touches—are meant to be an overflow of our heart. When we turn God’s instructions into nothing but a set of obligations, we undermine their purpose. They were all given first and foremost as ways to express our love. That’s why the greatest commandment to love Him is above all others; it was meant to shape everything we do in our lives toward God. More than anything else, we were designed to adore Him. And our number one pursuit is to figure out how to love Him well.

Lord, how can I love You well today? What time should I set aside to spend with You? What service can I do? What can I say that will touch Your heart? Help me love You deeply and show it well.

From the book