Questions and Answers...Sorta

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to know God and essentially, to love Him. How is it that I am supposed to love a person, a being, a deity that I don't get to go out to coffee with? How does that make sense? These are just some of the questions that I am struggling to answer every day. It sounds silly to me, to be asking all these questions. I've grown up in the church and I know all the technical issues. The real struggle is how can I live a relationship with God daily? How can I make that a reality?

These past few weeks I have been specifialley thinking about how to love God. To love someone, you must know him. So in order for me to show God I love him, I must actually love Him. To be able to love Him, I must spend time with Him. Here are a few ways I have found to do that. They are simple, but it's been quite a while since I have put them into practice.

• Reading the Bible: I never know where to go or where to begin. Genesis? Matthew? Supposedly it's all good stuff right? Well, since getting involved in Real Life on the Palouse, I started getting involved in a Care Group and even just finished the two week membership class. These have both been great tools for me. I am also finding that the more I read, the more I WANT to read. Crazy eh?
• Quiet Times/Prayer: At almost any point in my life, I will tell you that I pray on a regular basis. However I think there are different kind of prayers. I think there are prayers I say (out loud or not) that make me feel better. I say a prayer here and there because I know I should and I want to stay on "good terms" with God. Then there are the prayers where I am able to pray with my heart. It's earnest, emotional and satisfying. My prayer life has grown and become more intimate since I've been reading my Bible although nowhere near where it should be or where I want it to be. But that's the beauty of Christ. He will meet us where we are, we only need to ask.

I think I'm starting to get to know God - again.

Like I said earlier, I've been thinking a lot about loving God and what that means in my my life. On my way to school I flipped on MOODY radio and there was a guy was speaking about this very subject. (Gee, God. Are you trying to tell me something here?) Well, one of the best ways to love God is through our obedience to him. Here is the analogy he used:

I am Christ's daughter, His little girl. I am also my earthly father's little girl. Now, if I am sinning physically, I'm trying to be eloquent and say HAVING SEX, my dad is not going to be all "buddy-buddy" with that guy. They will not get along and friendship is out of the question. It's the same with my Heavenly Father. If I'm living in sin, whether it's sexual sin or some other addiction, I cannot be friends with God. He does not condone what is harmful for me. Does that make sense?

Obedience is sometimes one of the hardest things about living a life for Christ. But something he demands of each of us as his followers.