Practices for Loving God
Pope Shenouda III discusses how to practically reach the love of God, explaining that loving God is not merely words or feelings, but a life of continuous spiritual practice.
A person begins to love God when he keeps God continually present in his thoughts, because a person naturally thinks frequently about what he loves.
In order to know God, one should read frequently about Him in the Bible and in the lives of the fathers, and meditate on His beautiful attributes such as His power, tenderness, patience, and humility.
He also encourages continually speaking with God in prayer, using expressions of love and longing, and asking God to pour His love into the heart and lead the person on the path of salvation.
Spiritual Message
One of the most important practices is to get rid of every love that conflicts with the love of God, because being preoccupied with the world, sin, and material things can draw the mind away from God.
Prayer helps a person become detached from the world and enter into the depth of the words he says before God, so that prayer gradually becomes a prayer filled with feelings and love.
A person should also continually remember God’s blessings toward him and should not attribute God’s gifts to his own intelligence, abilities, or to other people while forgetting the true Giver, because remembering God’s blessings increases love and thanksgiving.
A person can also begin with obedience, the fear of God, and keeping His commandments; through practicing virtue, love for goodness and virtue grows, and consequently the love of God grows in the heart.
Educational Lesson
The teaching emphasizes the importance of keeping company with those who love God, because a person is influenced by those with whom he lives, and some of their thoughts, prayers, way of life, and feelings can be transferred to him.
Being continually aware of God’s presence also makes a person more attached to Him; therefore, one should keep the Lord before him at all times.
Another important means is loving and serving others, because loving and serving one’s brother is connected with loving God, and service can become a means through which the love of God grows in the heart.
Practical Application
A person should examine himself and identify what is preventing the love of God from growing in his heart, and then gradually try to overcome these obstacles.
He should set aside time to think about God, read about Him, meditate on His attributes, speak with Him in prayer, and remember His blessings.
He should also love the church, the Word of God and His commandments, prayer, Communion, and service, while regarding these things as means that lead him to God rather than as goals in themselves.
The teaching concludes by emphasizing that the relationship with the world will end, while the relationship with God, the angels, the saints, righteousness, and virtue continues forever; therefore, a person should begin now to establish a genuine relationship with God and prepare for eternal life.
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