Love is the affection of our hearts that arises as we view someone or something as valuable to us. Love is also the appropriate activity of our hands generated by the love in our hearts. God instructs us to love him because he is holy, that is because he has infinite, unexcelled, and irreplaceable worth. As we see and savor his value, we obey his command and begin to love him above all else. Scripture communicates many of his works which demonstrate his worth. Not only has he demonstrated his worth, he promises to be more valuable to everyone who loves him wholeheartedly. Meditating on these promises will help us fine tune our faith when it is difficult to love the God we cannot see directly.
Do not make a carved image or likeness of anything that is in heaven, or on the earth, or in the sea. Do not bow down to them or serve them, for I, Yahweh, your God … show extravagant kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:4–6
Our creator is more full of wonders than any of our fellow creatures. He is certainly more wonderful than any copy of his creations that we could ever produce. As delightful as other aspects of creation are, they are of limited value to us. How much less should we rely on representations of them to provide us with a happy future? Nevertheless, despite the fact that God’s “eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made,” we have all, at one time or another, foolishly and fruitlessly, “worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” Rather than futilely loving a finite world, God wants us to love him and follow his instructions for how to relate to the rest of creation. Why? Because he is ready and able to satisfy our hearts by acting with extravagant kindness toward us. God made this grace evident when Christ gave himself to deliver his people from sin. It is evident now as God works in and through his people, doing “powerfully and abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.” It will be evident eternally in the age to come, when he shows “the surpassing riches of his grace in useful kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” This is good news. This is the gospel.
Creator God, enable me to see and savor the infinite glory of your grace so my heart fills with love for you.
Promises for the Battle 
Discussion
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