You become what you love. How is that possible and why is it important?  

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, Matthew 22:37. That sounds great, but how does that affect our life now and eternally?

Love’s Misconception

People commonly believe we are victims of the love arrows of Cupid, with no control over our affections. Particularly young people, long to be swept away by a tempest of heady emotions.

The misconception is that we ‘fall in love’. Ask anyone what love is and you will find a common misconception. Love is whimsical, unpredictable and almost entirely beyond our control. It springs up unexpectedly, blooms for a time then dies of itself.

If all this were true, how can we command someone to love us, or be in control of whom we love? How can we be commanded to love God, when God is Spirit, John 4:24?

The Real Fact

The real fact is that spiritual love is not the unpredictable and irresponsible emotion that movie directors and romantic novelists would have us believe. Instead, it is the servant of our will and must always go where it is sent and do what it is told. I hear you throw your hands up in horror as you object to those words of A W Tozer.

The truth is that human nature is ever evolving. We are being changed into the image of the thing we love.

Work in Progress

‘As human beings we are in the process of becoming’, A W Tozer. We have all come from our past, are in the process of being and constantly moving toward what we shall be. Our character is not solid but fluid, for we are not fixed to our present state.

What we will be is controlled by what our heart desires. The warning is loud and clear. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will grant you the desires of your heart, Psalm 37:4.

Line of Progress

It is not in our nature to progress on a horizontal plane. We are either ascending upwards, or descending to something lower. We do not have the ability to remain static.

Even a person in a coma is coming from something, is in something and going toward something. We are either moving towards the better or the worse. It is not about where we have come from, or what we are now, but what we are heading towards. Wrong desires twist and deform life.

Becoming What You Love

Love is the most powerful agent affecting our nature. It changes and molds us, shapes and transforms. ‘It is of present, critical and everlasting importance’, A W Tozer. There is a slow but continuous transformation towards the object of our affection.

A simple example of becoming what we love is Jezebel, 1 Kings 21:25. She didn’t start life as a stirrer and doer of evil, but like all of us, was a cute little baby that smiled easily at the world.

What took her to the place where she is thrown out a window and the dogs ate her body? Though, not her head or her hands, 2 Kings 9:30-37. Jezebel loved evil to the extent she became evil.

Note, the mark of the Beast is placed on either the head or the right hand, Revelation 13:16. The head is seat of knowledge and the hands for what we do.

Become God-like

‘To become like God is and must be the supreme goal of all moral creatures’, A W Tozer. That is the purpose of God creating man in His image, Genesis 1:27, that He might dwell in the midst of His people, Zechariah 2:10.

Lucifer’s love of self was his undoing, Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekial 28. His end is fully recorded in the Bible, along with all his henchmen, and those who refuse to accept Christ as their Saviour, Revelation 20:10.

Adam was perfect in all his ways, until he disobeyed God and sin entered the whole human race. The second Adam, Christ paid the price for us to return to fellowship with God in Godlikeness.

Spiritual Growth

What we love is vital to our spiritual growth and position. When we set our heart on heavenly things, we grow towards the fulness of the measure of the stature that belongs to Christ, Ephesians 4:13.

We will not see the fulfilment in this life, but we will in eternity. However, we can ensure our spiritual growth through the right desire of our heart.

God Knows the End

God knows the end from the beginning, Isaiah 46:10. In Christ we are already seated in heavenly places, Ephesians 2:6. When we submit all to God, the Holy Spirit guides us and leads us to that destination.

Through Christ we do not walk according to the prince of the power of the air, or bow to the spirit of disobedience, Ephesians 2:2-5. We walk according to a higher calling, Philippians 3:14.

We are a masterpiece that is always in restoration and transformation. It is vital we keep our faith-filled gaze toward the face of Jesus Christ,  and be transformed into the same image from glory to glory, 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Circular Thinking

Circles have no beginning or ending, just like God has no beginning and no ending. The heart of every circle is the pivotal point, the centre, the hub. It is the anchor that holds the geometrical figure in place. However, you can only have a circle when have a pivotal point. The true followers of Christ have God as their only pivotal point as they strive to unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, Ephesians 4:13. 

To love God is to operate in circular thinking, for everyone operates out of a few basic ideas. New thoughts can be added to the sum or our knowledge, but they only enlarge the original circle. Greatness lies in the ability to combine and recombine old and familiar ideas to form new and original beautiful ideas. Together they move around the familiar circle.

The old masters who created masterpieces of artwork used only seven basic colours. Great works by Beethoven or Mozart were created with only a handful of musical tones, though no composition is the same as any other.

We do not ‘fall in love with God’ for that would be unscriptural, unworthy of us and unworthy of the Most High God. Loving God is not the result of a sudden emotional visitation. It comes from repentance, amending our life to live for Him only, and a fixed determination to love Him all the days of our life.

You Become what You Love

You become what you love. True spiritual love then begins in the will. The love we have for God is not the love of feeling, but the love of willing, for love is a choice. One that we will be held accountable for if we ignore so great a salvation, Hebrews 2:3.  We are not responsible to feel but we are responsible to love and obey. At the point of great crisis, Jesus prayed, Let your will be done not Mine, Matthew 26:42. He chose to love and obey the Father above all else.

We are commanded to love God but it always remains a choice. Only then will peace that passes all understanding fill our life, Philippians 4:7. Love is the real power.

Photo Source

Dr. Wendy Stenberg-Tendys is a freelance writer and servant of the Lord who enjoys researching a topic and sharing words of encouragement from the Word of God.

Check out our other posts at Whispering Encouragement. We are here to inform and encourage. Subscribe for free so you can keep up to date with topics that interest you.

________________________Whispering Encouragement_______________________