ASSESSING OUR LOVE FOR GOD

Liberia: The Republic of Liberia is on the West coast of Africa (see red arrow on map below). English is the official language. The capital city is called Monrovia where the TLI teaching will be taking place. The population of the country is just under 5 million people. When I travel there in December it will be the dry season with hot winds blowing in from the Sahara desert. The colony of Liberia was founded in 1825 by the American Colonization Society to support the migration of free American slaves back to Africa. Land was leased by Jehudi Ashmun from the local tribal leader King Peter and in return, the natives received three barrels of rum, five casks of powder, five umbrellas, ten pairs of shoes, ten iron posts, and 500 bars of tobacco, as well as other items. [more next week].

 "One of the best ways whereby we can decide immediately as to whether we love God or not is our reaction to adversity." This was written by Martyn Lloyd-Jones as part of his commentary on Romans 8.28-29, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, ..." Here love for God means an understanding of who God is in all His Goodness and Mercy and Love, His Holiness, and His Sovereign power over all circumstances. This understanding is developed through reading about God in His Word and seeing His character and attributes revealed in His dealings with His creation, and then often meditating on who God is.
Here love for God means an understanding of God's purposes. God's purposes for His creation and for His saints is also described in the Bible and also in these verses, "for those who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." God's purpose is to make us holy as He is holy and conformed to Jesus Christ His Son. God's purpose for His saints is joy and peace. Where the world seeks circumstantial happiness God seeks godly character and relationship.
Here love means a willing choice to trust in God in all circumstances and to abandon ourselves unto Him, forsaking our own agenda, our own purposes and goals, for the sake of God's Glory and His purpose in us and for us. In this abandoned trust in God we come to experience His Love for us, His Goodness, His protection, His provision, His fellowship, His reality in our lives.

Our reaction to adversity immediately reveals our understanding of the character of God, our understanding of the purposes of God for us, and our willingness to abandon all for the Glory of God and the accomplishment of His purposes. With this quality of love at work in the saint, all things will work together for our good and God's Glory.
Over the last couple of years I have come to know that love for God is the strongest compelling for worship, obedience and service, and that love for God is the result of knowing the character of God, the purposes of God, and trusting God in all circumstances no matter what the cost, and experiencing God as Father and Jesus as Savior and Lord. There is no higher life.