You know what it means to love someone. You look at your child, or spouse, or close friend, and you notice you have feelings for that person. When you have those feelings, then you know you have love. But, does it work the same way with God? That is, can you have feelings for God?
Somehow it seems out of place to talk about having feelings for God. As if it brings God down to the level of our emotional fluctuations. On the other hand, it seems necessary that our emotions should be involved in our spiritual life. Because otherwise there would be no life to it. It would be spirit without life.
Maybe we are looking at a distinction between these two ways to experience love:
1: Emotional love. This love is rooted in the natural desire and longing to be connected with others. It wells up within our hearts when we connect with another person and it often feels overwhelming because we don’t have control over it.
A powerful example is the moment parents see their child for the first time, right at birth. I wish you good luck if you want to ask them to have no feelings for that new person in their lives. We lose our minds and hearts to love like that.
2: Spiritual love. This love is rooted in the revelation of God and in experiences of God’s divine presence. It develops in us as a result of encountering God. Just like emotional love, it can be quite overwhelming because we don’t have control over it.
An example is the famous one of Jesus showing up in the world and people quitting their occupations to run after him. They lost their minds and hearts to the fact that he said he was God and acted like one.
Still…
With this distinction in mind, I am not sure how to determine that we have love for God. Is it really true that we only love God spiritually, and not emotionally? Is it really true that our emotions are not involved in our love for God? I wonder what you think. How do you know you love God?
Related Posts:
- Why Do You Love?
- What to Do When You Wish God Were Tangible?
- What Do You Mean, “A Person Is the Truth”?
(Photo: rushantha on flickr.)
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I don’t think we can talk about love in any capacity unless it involves our feelings. Not even when the object of our love is God. It will always be an emotional experience to love God. At least partly.