First Things First - Part 1 of the Series, Walking with God

John 3:16 (King James Version)
16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God SO LOVED the world that He GAVE. Love is such a strong emotion that it must express itself, it must be released. Giving is an expression of love, love’s point of release.  God refers to Himself as love (I John 4:8). God (love) arrived at the point where He HAD to release what had been welling up inside of Him.  The interesting thing is that no matter what it was that opposed God's love, it was simply overcome. There was no sin too great, no sin conceived by or carried out by man, which could hold back God's love waiting to be expressed in the giving of His Son, Jesus Christ.

God displayed His love for us through the giving of His Son, offering forgiveness to all who would believe.  No sin of ours is too big to separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:31-39). In fact, we’re told by the Apostle Paul in Romans 2:4 that it is the overwhelming kindness and goodness of God that leads us to repent. Even when we sin, we repent not because of the conviction of the depth of the atrocity we committed, but rather because of the conviction of the depth of His kindness to forgive us!!  His KINDNESS leads us to repentance!! That love is the very thing that drives us to our knees. That love is the very thing that gives us the boldness to approach Him, even when we’ve failed miserably.  

For a person to truly experience this great love of God, they have to first hear about God's love for them. It is most often the case that God’s love to the lost is expressed and demonstrated by the ones who follow after His Love...Believers in Christ. These Believers reach out to the lost because someone once reached out to them. The love of God they received and experienced is actually the very thing that motivates them to tell others about God’s love. Believers don’t "witness" because that’s what people at their church do, they "witness" because they themselves have experienced God’s love to the extent it has overwhelmed their souls.  They simply must find an outlet to express the love of God in them, so they give. They give the good news, they give the joyful message, they give others hope that they too can enter into the presence of the One who has forgiven their sins and who offers new life through God's Son, Jesus Christ.  A true Believer lives in such a way that the love within is demonstrated outward through their day to day affairs. They express God’s love through the simple common walk of everyday life. They love because someone first loved them, and like those they are "witnessing to", they received that love when they were in a very undeserving position. Romans 5:8 tells us that "God demonstrates His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Before the thought ever entered our minds that in some way we could “earn” God's love, God in His great mercy and kindness had already met the requirements. His love had already been expressed, and forgiveness was given.

We, as Believers, can’t possibly express God’s love to others simply because we’ve read about it. We need to experience it for ourselves before we can give it, and I’m not just talking about a one time deal. Many people "get saved" and actually do experience a measure of the love of God, but they never pursue it, to live in it, after that initial experience. God’s love is not something that we get “one dose of" to last us for the rest of our lives.  How would you feel if your spouse told you they loved you when you got married and never told you or expressed it again? God IS love and love must be expressed CONTINUALLY. That means He continually desires to tell us and to show us His great love. Love is like a river that never stops flowing. Love is not stagnant, it continues to search for a way to express itself, and to flow into dead areas and bring much needed life. To live in this river, this flow of God's love, we need to continually seek out the Father every day. We need to make a point to set everything aside and find Him. We need to get a hold of Him before we do anything else. He’s there, waiting for us to take the time to engage Him so He can express that love to us, and we in turn can express our love back to Him. In love, there is always an exchange. Each party gives, and each party receives. That’s how the cycle is completed and the flow stays healthy and vibrant.

To become and to stay vibrant Christians, we need to take the time to build our relationship with God each day. So many Christians are dry, with no motivation in them. The life of God seems to have seeped out of them, and they don’t know what to do to get it back. They relate to the “things of God” as if they’re relating to God Himself, one and the same. But they’re not.  So many people are seeking the hand of God without ever first seeking His face. The “things” are tangible, so we can relate to them.  But God, He isn’t tangible….or is He? The things of God can never take the place of God Himself. He is the treasure - not what He can give you, and not what He can do for you. If you’ve gone beyond Him, you’ve missed it. He’s the treasure, He’s the key. Everything else is secondary. Everything.

I’ve been experiencing God on a level that I never have before. I’m enjoying intimacy DAILY with the Father like I’ve never known before. His presence is tangible, and it’s very real to me. He’s faithful to meet me every day, and the best news is, He’s changing me - and it’s seemingly effortless. All I have to do is show up. It’s revolutionary, and it’s changing the way I walk with God. And get this: the things that I have been trying to chase out of my life for a long time are simply falling off – like dead leaves off a tree.

In the next of this series, “Living in the Overflow”, I’m going to be sharing the principles I’ve learned to experience this deep love and how to walk in it.

Blessings!

Dan Owczarzak