“My dad never told me he loved me,” she said. Her words held no bitterness; she was simply stating a fact. She understood the harsh origins that shaped her dad’s life, and she could bask in the knowledge that he cared deeply for her.
But still her father could not say the words “I love you.” I began to think about how God had given me an adoptive father who often expressed his love for me. And then I thought of how God Himself shows His love to me.
A question immediately came to mind: Do I ever tell God I love Him? I sing the phrase in worship songs, but do I sing those words thoughtlessly? When do I tell Him I truly love Him?
Intriguingly, I couldn’t find a biblical command to tell God I love Him. What I did find were numerous commands to praise and obey the Lord. Israel’s poets constantly reminded the people to praise God for the things He did for them. Psalm 105 gives one example: “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises” (Psalm 105:1-2).
The Bible does tell us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:5). But the question remains: Why doesn’t the Bible specifically command us to tell God we love Him? Perhaps it’s because God knows how easy it is for us to say empty words. Most of us know the pain inflicted when the phrase “I love you” is used tritely or flippantly. The words are precious and powerful. They should be used carefully.
God wants us to show our love to Him by lives filled with gratitude, service, obedience, and praise. By doing so, our very lives will say “I love You” to our loving heavenly Father and to a world that watches.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Matthew 21:28-46
More:
Read 1 John 4:7-12 and consider what real love for God and others entails.
Next:
Think of those times when you have told others you love them. What sort of impact does it have on you? In what ways do you show God you love Him?
Gary Shultz on September 2, 2016 at 6:17 am
Tim, your leaning on me. I am not quite at the place I can’t say “I love you” to those in my life, but I find it very difficult. I’m getting better, daughter-in-laws will do that to you. The blog is very interesting this morning and as I think down over it and the fact that we are not told to love God the more I believe it is true to do. That will come from the depth of the relationship and from the choice of the heart. When we have deeply experienced God’s love on an on going basis, we will have no other words on our heart we will want to say more. “Oh, God I love you” . How could we receive all of this without that voluntary choice of response. It is not commanded or asked because the value is to great to be a requirement. Thanks Tim
tim gustafson on September 2, 2016 at 8:26 am
Gary, I was pretty much thinking out loud with this one, and my editors let me get away with it. I think it says good things about you that you do not throw those words around carelessly. But yeah, your sons probably like to hear you say that to the women they married. 🙂
gagirllive on September 2, 2016 at 6:33 am
This is true, Tim. May it not be said of us what the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah—“These people come near me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Isa. 29: 13) That’s called giving God “lip-service”. God gives us a new heart when we place our trust in His Son, and a new heart produces a changed life—a life that progressively moves toward faith and obedience as we grow in Him. Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14: 15) There was a popular book that came out several years ago about discovering your and your significant other’s love language—that thing that best communicates “I love you” to one another. Interestingly, we tend to express our love to others out of our own love language rather than theirs. For example, my husband’s love language is acts of service. When I serve him in some way, I am saying “I love you” to him without actually speaking the words. Well, guess what? Acts of service ain’t my love language! Words of affirmation is; therefore, I’m always speaking encouraging words to him to communicate my love for him. Of course, he doesn’t mind that every now and then, but that’s not what he needs to feel loved by me. I’ve had to learn to express my love for him in the language that he hears rather than my own. All that to say—What is God’s primary love language? How do we say “I love you” to God? By joyfully obeying Him. Tim, this is a great reminder for us to love Him with our lives. Thank you, and a blessed weekend to you and all my fellow travelers. Grace and peace.
sandy229 on September 2, 2016 at 9:47 am
Yes, obedience is an outward expression of our love for God! Amen GAgirl!!
hsnpoor on September 2, 2016 at 8:42 pm
Obedience for sure is our outward expression of love for our Savior, no doubt. But, and yes, I’m going to chase rabbits a bit here, this idea of love brought to my mind Jesus asking Peter 3 times if he loved him. The first 2 times he asked, he used the word agape for love and Peter responded that he phileo loved him. The 3rd time Jesus asked if he phileo loved him and Peter answered he did phileo love him. The context of this exchange is Jesus charging Peter with feeding his lambs, tending his sheep and feeding his sheep. I think we all know there are different kinds and quality of love and I’m thinking that this exchange emphasizes that it is agape love that we should strive for in our dealings with our neighbors. I don’t know about anyone else, but I am so want to stop at phileo, that brotherly love that feels so “kumbaya (sp?)”. I believe our Lord wants more. Just thinking….hope I didn’t confuse the issue.
tim gustafson on September 2, 2016 at 8:30 am
“A life that progressively moves toward faith and obedience …” I LOVE that. You have a blessed weekend too. I’ll be spending time with my family, and maybe just maybe watching a little football. Oh, and let me just say, your posts are great! I always appreciate your insights.
gagirllive on September 2, 2016 at 8:39 am
Ugh…don’t remind me—it’s that time of the year when I have to relinquish control over the remote!…LOL
hsnpoor on September 2, 2016 at 8:43 pm
Does the REAL season start this weekend? I’m a bit done with pre-season games.
kamme on September 2, 2016 at 8:47 am
I come from a culture where we do not mention “I love you”, so I had never heard my parents say those words to me. But I knew they loved me enough even to give their life for me. It does not come easily for me to say to my husband or children I love you, but I try to say that as often as possible. I know they understand my heart, and know how much I love them. I think the Lord knows how much we love Him too, and it will be good to express that every now and then, and not make it a ritual. Last year I went through a testing time of illness, and I grew so close to the Lord, calling on Him many times a day for help, relief, healing, and He heard my sincere cry and answered, much to my surprise some times, but this strengthened my walk with the Lord. Thank you Gary and other ODJ writers for sharing the Word and your experiences with us, and strengthening our spiritual lives.
tim gustafson on September 2, 2016 at 9:05 am
Kamme, I hope your health is improved. It’s very telling to see that you drew closer to God in your difficult times.
I have lived in several different cultures, so I have seen some of this distinction up close, in which love is never really expressed verbally. It may be why I fell in love with a woman (now my wife) who is so expressive with her emotions both verbally and with her actions. I never have to guess. 🙂 And I do think that the actions speak far louder than the words, as with my friend in this ODJ article. She knew she was loved, even though it was never really spoken. All the same, I believe I should just take time to TELL God I love Him — just sit quietly and appreciate His love for me.
youssef1777 on September 2, 2016 at 9:17 am
THANK YOU LORD .I KNOW YOU LOVE ME AND WILL NEVER LEAVE ME OR FORSAKING ME . LOVE THE LORD FROM ALL YOUR HEART . HE WILL GIVE PEACE , JOY AND COMFORT IN YOUR LIFE . GOD BLESS ALL .
tim gustafson on September 2, 2016 at 12:56 pm
Thank you, Friend! May God bless you as well.
minkjh on September 2, 2016 at 11:10 am
Thinking out loud works very well here, Tim. That little word love certainly takes on a variety of natures in our lives. We have the romantic (eros) and the familial (phileo). But I think the one you’re focusing on here is the unconditional (agape). I believe agape love is unique to our Christian beliefs because of its dual nature of sacrifice and obedience that we display throughout our lives (or at least strive to since we are fallen by nature). While we learned to emulate that path from the actions of godly folks whom we observed from our youth, we also have the greatest living example of this in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we consistently walk the talk when it comes to love because after all, He’s still loving us!
sandy229 on September 2, 2016 at 11:34 am
Amen!
Shalom
tim gustafson on September 2, 2016 at 12:56 pm
Yep, agape! And our heavenly Father wrote the Book on that kind of love. Without the Holy Spirit, I believe we are completely incapable of it. Thanks for weighing in here! Appreciate it.
hsnpoor on September 2, 2016 at 8:45 pm
Amen! So much better said than my meanderings above. Thank you, minkjh!
johnswanson on September 2, 2016 at 4:33 pm
I wish all of you a safe and blessed holiday weekend.
hsnpoor on September 2, 2016 at 8:46 pm
And back at you, John!