So, what does it look like to love God?  Have you ever considered this question?  Although everyone will have a slightly different personal understanding of this, I think the following are safe statements.

Since we know that God is love, all knowing, and that he only wants to see us prosper and not to harm us, then we can be certain the laws he put in place are to protect us and not to keep us from having fun.  The first way we can show love to our Father is by striving daily to follow the laws he put in place.

The second way we would be expressing our love to God, if we truly had a deep love for him, would be to spend time alone with him.  It is impossible to get to know someone if you do not spend time alone with them and God is no different.  The following question is worth considering:  Would you feel loved by someone who only came to you when they needed something and never made time to spend with you?

The third way we can show love to God is to take care of his creation.  This includes both taking care of the planet he created for us as well as the people that inhabit it.  If we live a life of service towards people and the planet, we are following God’s commandments and taking care of his creation.

The fourth way we can show love to God is by showing love to ourselves.  This can often be overlooked, but the importance of taking care of ourselves cannot be understated.   We have been blessed with amazing bodies that need proper nourishment, rest, and exercise.  By eating healthy foods and keeping our bodies moving through regular exercise, we are showing God that we appreciate the bodies we have been given.  We also need to ensure that our brains stay sharp and that we are constantly giving ourselves the resources to stay mentally fit.  This includes limiting our stress levels at any cost, constantly learning new things, and making sure that we do not expose ourselves to negativity and limiting beliefs.  This means avoiding negative people from our routines and also keeping ourselves in check to make sure we are not self-sabotaging with limiting and false beliefs.  Showing ourselves love by taking care of ourselves and expressing the love we have for ourselves is vital for our health and to our relationship with our Father.

How often do you think about the lives of others or the hardships that many are facing around the world?  If you are like most people, it is probably not all that often.  As we go through our busy and stressful lives, we often have such a hard time dealing with our own problems that we don’t even think about the problems of others.  This is why it is so important to remove stress from our lives. As mentioned previously, when we are stressed out, we lose our connection to God and others and our ability to receive or offer love is severed.

Have you ever considered what your life might look like if you actually put others above yourself?  Maybe when you consider this it freaks you out because it sounds like it will disrupt your current routine.  Maybe you are reading this and you are already living your life like this (congratulations by the way!)  Or maybe this idea has sparked something new inside of you and you are willing to give it a try.

Falling in love with ourselves is vital to our path of personal and spiritual development.  I cannot stress how important this is.  If we do not have a deep love and respect for ourselves, we will never have the confidence we need to make an impact on this planet.  Also, if we do not love ourselves we cannot offer any genuine love to anyone else.  Taking care of ourselves and showing ourselves the love we deserve will not only make us feel better, it will be the fuel we need to make an impact and spread love throughout the world.

When we can no longer feel love or are only able to feel it at significantly reduced levels, the cause is always the same.  We have lost connection to our source, God.  Although we may go to church and read our Bibles and even spend time praying, if love doesn’t drive everything we do, we are not fully connected to God.  Doing legalistic things like going to church and praying are great things to do, but if we do not do them out of pure love, then we should revisit why we are doing them in the first place.  More than likely we are doing them because we feel guilty if we don’t.  We should never do anything out of guilt, because it is derived from fear and God has made it very clear that we are not to live in fear.

When preparing for this meditation, start really considering these questions.  Perhaps you have been reading this and you really don’t think that this love thing is all that important.  Or maybe you are reading this and it has your wheels turning about what you may be missing in your life.  Regardless of what side of the fence you are on, for this meditation we are going to remove all current beliefs to make room for new truths.

As with every other meditation, start by relaxing your muscles and slowing down the mind with the breath.  Once you have slowed everything down and entered a more meditative state, begin asking the questions below or something similar in your own words:

“Am I currently putting God first in my life?”

“What would my life look like if I did put God first and others above myself?”

 “Am I currently living a life of service to others?”

 “Can I really make an impact on anyone else’s life for the better?

“Am I showing myself the love I deserve?”

Keep these questions top of mind throughout the entire meditation and see what sparks within you.

Matthew 22: 36-49 – Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?  Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

1 John 4:7-8 – Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 3:17 – If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?

Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Deuteronomy 15:11 – There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

• If we are motivated by love, everything we touch will turn to gold
• If we are motivated by material things, we may gain the world, but surely, we will lose our soul