“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” – Matthew 22:37
 
Last Sunday, my pastor candidly asked our congregation, “Do you love God, or do you love what he promises to give to those who love him?” 
 
I felt frozen in my seat. I was going to need another coffee from the lobby before I waded through all the thoughts and emotions evoked by one simple question. 
 
Although it was not the first time I had been asked this question (and I pray it will not be the last), I realized instantly that as much as I want to pursue my Heavenly Father with a pure love, I can often drift and start to become transactional in my faith. 
 
My pastor continued, “The Church has often misconstrued the priority of loving God as something beneficial to self-advancement. ‘Do you want a better marriage? Love God, and he will fix it. Do you want to have financial security? God provides for those that love him, so do your morning quiet time and he will provide,’” he said. 
 
“The result of loving God with all your heart and mind is self-denial, not self-advancement.” 
 
After service, I pondered the repercussions of loving God in exchange for what he can give. I asked myself some hard questions. If I think Christ owes me something in return for loving him, do I fully understand the weight of the Gospel message? Am I living in a way that proves I know the cross saved me from death when I was still far from God? 
 
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
 
Is that enough for me? 
 
We know we serve a healing and generous God who is capable to provide what we need. The problem arises when our devotion to him serves as our insurance we won’t get skipped when he passes out his blessings, instead of knowing Christ is our greatest treasure.
 
God stepped out of heaven and provided us with greatest gift we could have ever been given: a relationship with the sovereign God and eternal life with him. He’s a good Father who loves his children, who withholds no good thing and has already given us everything we need. 
 
He alone is the greatest fulfillment of our security, comfort, peace and joy. A God like that deserves all the love we can muster. 
 
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” – 1 John 3:1a
 
Written by Audra Beaty, social media strategist for Buckner International.