Day 7 – For the Love of God
Brother Lawrence said that “he had always been governed by love with no other interest, never worrying whether he would be damned or saved, and having once decided to perform all his actions for the love of God, he was at peace. He was content even when picking up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking him alone and nothing else, not even his gifts.”
How many of us would decide like Brother Lawrence to do all for the love of God?
Guiding verses could include 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” And 2 Corinthians 5:9, “So we make it our goal to please him.” And Colossians 1:10, to “please him in every way.”
For the glory of God. For the pleasure of God. Brother Lawrence, for the love of God.
While we live today in an era of easy believism, he lived in an era when the assurance of our salvation was less understood. Yet even within his theological misunderstanding, as saved or lost, he resolved to love God.
He decides to perform all his actions for the love of God, and he is at peace.
So captured and consumed by God’s love that even the simple task of picking up a piece of straw from the ground for the love of God is enough for him.
He’s saying by his actions: “Because I love God, I’m doing all this for God. I want God, nothing more. I seek him for his sake, not for the gifts he can give me. God alone. That’s all I want.”
What would that look like if we did all for the love of God? Changing a diaper, driving a car, filling out a tax form, preparing a meal, doing the laundry, playing a computer game, brushing our teeth, buying groceries, doing Facebook.
How could these simple tasks be transformed into delightful acts of worship as we do them for the love and pleasure and glory of God? Just living for Christ and in Christ and with Christ.
While a full-time, Master of Divinity seminary student, I worked part-time at UPS for 3½ years to help pay for my education and care for my family. I recall those early morning hours working hard in a cold, damp truck, often reminding myself in an unaffirming environment:
I’m lifting and carrying all these heavy boxes for the glory of God. I’m punching every UPS code into this handheld computer for the pleasure of God. I’m stacking every box, wrapping every pallet, bagging every bag for the love of God and the benefit of others.
Action Step: What task will you do for the love of God?
This is God’s Word for you today,
Pastor Dave
