Print This PostLove God, and do as you please
Paradox? Premise? Promise? More than likely, all three.
Ken Gire, in his 2006 book, Seeing What Is Sacred, has this to say; “When asked the secret of living the Christian life, Augustine replied: “Love God, and do as you please.” The thought of that is both liberating and confining. Liberating because it means we are free to do whatever we want. Confining because it means our love for God sets the boundaries of that freedom. It guides every thought, every action, every conversation. And it does so every minute of the day, every day of our life. Instead of a Byzantine complexity of laws to regulate the details of our life, we have only one. The love of God. When that is the heart of who we are, it changes what we do. And it changes something else. How we will be judged.”
Augustine was able to say what he said and mean what he meant because he knew if we obeyed the greatest commandment-to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength-then we will only do what pleases God.
I will admit that most of my waking hours are not spent consciously loving God. I DO love God, I DO want to please Him, and I definitely want the freedom to DO as I please. That’s the problem. Five times in the last couple of sentences I used the pronoun, I.
The unholy trinity; me, myself, and I. I want to do as I please more than I want to love God. There we go again! I I I….! I just can’t get away from it. I’m in love with I!. Are you shocked? The second part of the great commandment is to love my neighbor as I love myself. Isn’t it healthy to love myself? How can I love my neighbor if I don’t love myself?
To be honest, my self-esteem is at least average. What I need to work on is my God-esteem. Valuing what God values. Loving what God loves. Doing what God does. Seeing myself, and everyone in my world through the lens of the cross. Looking up into the pain-wracked and thorn-pierced face of Jesus keeps my focus where it needs to be. Not on me. Not on you. On Jesus. Seeing myself reflected in His eyes as he beckons me, “Come, just as you are, come.” The only mirror that I can see a clear reflection of myself in is the mirror of the cross. Where God spread His arms wide and bid me nail them in place, the whole time showing me how much He loved me-and you-and every human being that ever lived or ever will live.
It’s the cross that shows me how much God loves me. It’s picking up my cross and following Jesus that shows God how much I love Him. Paul said, “I die daily.” 1 Cor. 15:31
Earlier, I was lamenting the sad state of affairs in my own heart when It was all about me. BUT, that was the old me! Paul says in Gal. 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live.” The old me is dead and gone. The problem is I keep resurrecting the old man. So, how do I solve this dilemna? I DON’T!
God solved it. On the cross. When He said it is finished, He meant it. There is a whole new reality to life now. No matter how hard we try to lessen the significance of the cross in our own lives, we can’t get away from the fact that the cross is an instrument of torture and death. It HURTS to crucify the flesh and the lusts therof . Maybe if we try to look through the cross to what lies on the other side…? In AA, we talk about looking through the drink to what lies beyond. The morning after, the pounding head, the queasy stomach, not being able to look at yourself in the mirror. I have had to do that many times in the last couple of years. Any you know what, it WORKS. I remember what it feels like to wake up one more time, hating myself for not having the willpower to stop. The memories of what that feels like can cause my stomach to churn and my pulse race. Just writing about this is causing me to feel a little sick.
When I came into the rooms and fellowship of AA I was told that it was not a “stop drinking program, it’s a start living program.” Maybe if I apply that to my relationship with the Lord, it will work. “It’s not a stop sinning program, it’s a start loving program,” When I DO love God with ALL my heart, then I will only do what pleases Him. Knowing that I am doing what pleases God makes me want to please Him even more.
Thirteen days before I was released from prison in May of 2003, I wrote this in my journal: “To know God is to love Him; to love Him is to obey Him; to obey Him is to be known by Him; to be known by Him is the difference between heaven and hell.” Matt. 7:21-23. I still believe this. Now I have to act on it.
Love God, and do as I please.
One day at a time.
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October 18th, 2010 at 10:36 am
I’m an old (73) AA-guy, Methodist pastor and psychiatrist – born in Texas – living in Germany since 1973. In trying to write my next sermon I stumbled on your comments on, “Love God and do whatever you want…” and I find them refreshing, profound and even right! Thanks from Hamburg, Germany!
(Dr.) Appletree Rodden.