Ep 20: How to Love God

We wrestle with one question that sounds simple but exposes our priorities fast: do we truly love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. We connect love to obedience, everyday choices, and how we treat the people right in front of us. 

• Matthew 22:37 as the clearest definition of loving God fully 
• love shown through keeping God’s commandments and doing his will 
• modern idols like money, attention, celebrities, and social media 
• living in the world without being of the world 
• 1 John 4:19-21 and the link between loving God and loving people 
• neighbor defined as everyone we meet, not just next door 
• the challenge of being lovable and not pushing others away 
• small daily actions that build integrity in the in-between 
• prayer as real communication, not a distant concept 

if something touched you or touched someone else, that you can share that with them while they're on their road 

Transcript

Welcome And Why We Share

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to The Road Travel, a Christian podcast for men, where real faith meets real life. Through honest conversations and personal stories, we help you apply God's word to your everyday journey by sharing the road we've traveled. Whether you're walking through challenge, change, or calling, this is your road. And you don't have to travel it alone. Now, let's take the next step with your hosts, Aaron Degler and Alan Hugator.

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Welcome back to the Road Travel. Thanks for taking time to join us. I'm your host, Aaron Degler, along with Alan Hugator. We each week just come to you to share a little bit about our experiences, our road traveled, as we also share some scripture. And we we intertwine those so that we can share how that's scripture and how we can take that and apply that to our life. And we try to do that through some examples that we've had of success and failures of applying those things, probably more failures and successes, but we just hope that our experiences, our thoughts on it will find you on the road that you're traveling and help you down the road.

The Question Do I Love God

SPEAKER_00 1:13

And you know, if if you've ever been in a relationship of any kind, sometimes the other person might go, Do you love me? And then you have to think, Well, yeah. But then we might say, How do you know you love the per the other person? And so we're gonna talk a little bit about today about love. But that's not necessarily another person we're gonna talk about today.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

No, because I've asked myself, do I truly love God? Do I truly love God? So I'll start off here with a little scripture here, and and in the Bible, Jesus tells us how to love God in Matthew 22 and 37, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all of your mind. You know, in other words, God wants us to love Him with our whole being and in every possible way. You know, that's really not questionable. Do I truly love God? You know, that's the first and greatest of all commandments. Then we'll get into the second commandment where it talks about loving thy neighbor. I didn't pull it up to pull it exactly, but uh, we all know that that's what the second most important commandment is that Jesus told us. So, you know, it's easy if you think about it to love God because He loved us first. He loves us, we're His children. So it's easy, just like your parents, they love us, they take care of us, God's taking care of us, He's done things, He's provided this world for us, He's let us exist, He's done all these things for us. So it's a lot easier for us to return love to Him than it would be for our neighbor. And and you know And how do we really show our love to God would be by keeping His commandments and the Ten Commandments and everything He's given us to go by. Because when you love someone else, what do you do? You do things for them. By keeping His commandments and doing His will would be, you know, just like my children when they done what I asked for them to, or when they do what I asked for them to, wasn't often, but sometimes. But you know, I love that kid, just you know, just right there. I just ask them to do something and they jump and do it, and well they're you know willing to do what I ask and things of that nature, and it gives you a good feeling whenever someone like that, your child, responded to to your asking them to do something, not commanding them. I know it's a commandment, or even if you told them to do something, hey, yes, sir, dad, I'll I'll take care of that for you. Great. Do we respond to God that way? Do we respond to Him showing love for this world and for our neighbors?

When Good Things Become Idols

SPEAKER_02 4:18

It's uh it's just a different way I finally started looking at it, trying to get a definition or understanding that, you know, you know what if we're not careful, we'll love what the world offers. And and that'll lead us astray. If we start loving worldly things and things like that, that's not loving the neighbor, it's not loving God. We got to do his will. And his will is not loving earthly things first. We can enjoy this earth, we can enjoy events, we can enjoy fellowship, we can enjoy ball games, we can enjoy all kinds of things on this earth. Enjoy, but we can't let that take over and worship a hero or someone or put someone up there, or even putting the daughter bill in front. Hey, we got to make money, that's more important for my family and everything. You know, we got to be very careful of these worldly things that we put in front of God.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

But because we in the Bible we see all kinds of idols that are displayed, and God over time and time again says, destroy the idols. There's only one God. And we think, you know, whether it's a golden calf or a shrine, we think, oh, I can't believe they would build that. But in our modern times, our idols, just like you said, look different. It it's maybe a movie star, it's maybe a sports figure, it's maybe the dollars, it's maybe a lot of different things that are our idols. Uh maybe it's maybe it's even social media that we spend and we give our time to and we put those efforts into. It is those can be our idols, and and we're not supposed to have those idols. And as you said, uh as where we live in the world, we're just not supposed to be of the world. And so we live in the world, but not of the world. That means putting him first. Sure, we can enjoy a nice house. Sure, we can enjoy a nice car, sure we can enjoy good medical care. We can enjoy those things. But those the things we do in life to get those things, whether it's a cars or house, those shouldn't come priority over God. And I think a lot of times we put those over, we put those above God. I gotta have this, I gotta have that.

SPEAKER_02 6:40

How does your spouse respond when you put things in front of her? Okay. Get some feelings hurt. Yeah. Well, God does too. We've been putting these things in front of him, in front of him. He gets feelings hurt. We're putting him aside. We're not doing his will, we're not going by his commandments by putting him aside. I'd like to read this

Love For God Requires Loving People

SPEAKER_02 7:03

part here. I want to jump over to 1 John and 4, number 19 through 21, and it says, We love because he loved us. And we understand. We talked on that. But in 21 it goes, whatever claims to love God yet hates a brother and sister is a liar. Excuse me, whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother and sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command. Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. So, you know, we hadn't seen God, and we're supposed to love him, and we see our brother and sister, our neighbors, whoever, and we're supposed to love them, they're right here. And you know, it's reading sometimes it's kind of hard to believe because we hadn't seen. You know, God makes a statement there in the Bible, or Jesus does about faith, about I think to some of the disciples are about some of us that hadn't seen him and loving him and those that have seen him right there and about have little faith, it's all back to faith. But, you know, loving thy neighbor, and we know how hard it is. You say, Well, I like my neighbor. You said neighbor, it's supposed to be neighbors, that's everybody, okay?

SPEAKER_00 8:33

And we just think I think sometimes that's the you know, out here in the country, that's you know, a few pastures between us, or in the city that's, you know, someone you can reach out and touch. We think of those as our neighbors. But our neighbors are really even those you come in contact with at your grocery store, at your gas station, at your at the baseball games, at all the different things that we come in contact with, those are our neighbors. It's not just the people right next to us. It's how are we treating God's people? And doesn't matter what religion, doesn't matter what nationality, what nationality, what sex, whatever it is, they're our neighbor. They're mankind, they're humankind.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

There you go. It's it's everyone in this world we're supposed to love. Wow. That's broad.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

They're just sh short of eight billion people in the world, so it's a lot of loving.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

And you know, due to politics and events and things that's going on today in this world, it's hard to think about loving everyone. We've had wars, it's hard to love the people that we've had to fight against and do different things. So it's it's very hard to do that.

Be More Lovable In Daily Moments

SPEAKER_02 9:50

But I got a question for you. Are you making it hard for your neighbors to love you? I know I probably have. My personality has probably clashed with a lot of people, and I know at times I've made it hard for people to like me.

SPEAKER_00 10:09

So it it it's it's our responsibility to love that neighbor, but it's also our responsibility to be lovable. I would think so.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

We should make it a little bit easier on our neighbor to love us. Mm-hmm. Then if we feel love from them, we were able to give it a little bit easier. But if we don't give them a good personality, a good relationship to make us lovable also. So I you know, God loves everybody. We're supposed to love everybody. Well, if you're a Gracchio toot like I am, sometimes I'm pretty hard to like. You know. So I know that I have made it hard, and that's what I'm working on, even, you know, as we go through life. I wished I'd have started on it when I was a year old, but uh, and that's where we change. You know, God's showing us how to love all through this Bible, because He God is love. He's showing us how to love, how to treat others and everything. And so we're constantly changing. If you're a Christian and you're a believer and you love God, you are changing, trying to become more what he wants us to be. And that Bible explains what he would like for us to be. It's got examples all through it. So we have to be changing. And so if you knew me back a year ago, I've changed in so many years. If you knew me 10 years ago, I've changed in 10 years. If you knew me 30 years ago, I sure changed. And yet I don't know how lovable I am as a neighbor sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

And as it said, we should love God, as you mentioned in the scripture, with all of our heart and soul and mind. Mind is such an important part because when we want to become lovable, we have to use that mind to think, what would make someone else love me? How could I be lovable? And that doesn't mean that to be lovable you always have to say yes or you have to be stepped on. It's it's being to be lovable is really just being a good human being, doing some of the things that God called us to do, caring for others, loving God, going to God and worship and prayer and you know realizing that that you can forgive, that you can do those things that the Bible had called has called us to do, and thinking, in in the everyday moment, how do I become lovable? Because we think just in the end of life, oh, that was a lovable person. But it's really how are we doing the daily small things that make us lovable? Are we being kind to the person walking in the door that we can open for, that we can say hello to? Are we being kind to the person that needs maybe just a hug? Maybe they just need a few dollars, maybe they just need us to make eye contact, maybe they just need a smile. Are we being kind to those? Are we doing those things in the small way that we too, others can see and go, that's a lovable person. And I think it's it's some big grand gestures what we're looking for, like we're gonna donate lots of money or do something big, but it's in those small moments that really where it's it's it's developed. I just did a a talk this week called about integrity in the in-between. Because we don't spend our whole life on in a valley, and we don't spend our whole life on the mountain. Very we have some low times, there are valleys. We have some big times, there are mountains, but a most of our life is spent in the in-between. It's in the middle, especially as Christians, we're in the middle. We're not we have some prayers, but nothing really big we're waiting for. Um, so how are how what does our integrity look like in the middle, in the small daily actions that contribute to us being lovable?

SPEAKER_02 14:03

Yeah, I've had Kim come in one time and said, Oh, this lady in town said you were so nice and you were funny and just you know, just you know, really enjoyable. And she goes, but they do you don't live with him. But I understand what she says because we all have our ups and downs as you were describing there, you know, especially in a daily or comfort zone.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Or say and people tell Kim, my Kim the same thing. Oh, that you must just be so lucky, and I always tell I'm always make sure, well, you only get me in a five-minute dose. Yeah, you get me a full dose, and you you want to you don't want it all. Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

Right. But I there's not a person alive that can't improve there. And we know some of the nicest people in the world, it's always seemed like they're in a good mood, but everyone can improve a little. And then there's some of them like me that can improve a whole lot. I mean, I can change 95% and be a lot, lot better. I mean, so you know, it's a it's another part of the walk with God is I feel like we need to be more lovable by others to where we can love them. Because what we're putting off may put them in a sorry mood and so I don't want to be around that person. Well, it may be what we put off to start with. And the lovable is those actions that we're doing. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Love Means Talking With God

SPEAKER_02 15:13

So, you know, back to my question: do I love God? Do you love God? And how do you love God? It's easy about, oh, yeah, I love God. Well, why? Just think about that, folks. If you're listening, think about why do you love God? Do you truly love him? Is it just because he loved you first? Yes, that makes it easier. But then if you truly love him, then we're talking about the action that should change in your life in my life to show that I truly love God. Because I am trying to do the laws that he set out and an example that he set out to love.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

And one of the big things, I mean, we're both married. What do we do with the person that we love the most? We communicate with them, we talk to them, we have a relationship with. It's really hard to say, I love God. When's the last time you talked to him? Oh, well, I don't really know. And so it it's I think that's a that's a big challenge to start with. If if it's been a while since you talked to God. Think about somebody you really love. Do you go a long time in between talking to them? Have a relationship with them, thinking of them. It may be you hadn't thought of God in a while.

SPEAKER_02 16:33

Right. Right. Well, speaking of that, let's go to the Lord in a word of prayer and I'll talk to him. Lord, we pause at this time, Lord, just to, you know, understanding more as we go every day about you and your love, and and for us to try to learn how to love back and and not only to you, Lord, but to our neighbors. And Lord, the communication that that I have with you is is every day, and I pray that everyone will learn how to talk to you and just just like we're doing right now, just just having a conversation with you, Lord. And I pray for each and every one of them that's listening, pray for everyone in this world that they will have a conversation with you and understand your love and express theirs even more. As a believer in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we come to you in these things. Amen. Amen.

Prayer Final Thoughts And Share

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Thank you, VHV, for joining us on The Road Travel. We hope that what we share today finds you on the road that you're traveling. And as always, we ask that you just if if something touched you or touched someone else, that you can share that with them while they're on their road. And we just we look forward to meeting you on the road.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

You've been listening to The Road Travel, where real faith meets real life. Remember, every step matters, even the hard ones. So keep walking your road with courage, conviction, and Christ leading the way. Until next time, your hosts, Aaron and Allen, say we'll see you down the road.