Love God
*Engage with God
*Listen to the Spirit
*Experience transformation
What does it look like to love God? A million different ways. The quiet man who runs prayer retreat center in the mountains and the gregarious businesswoman in New York who seems to know everyone can both be equal expressions of someone who loves God. The professor studying the biblical texts and the mountain hiker experiencing God through nature and music can also be equal representations of loving God. God’s relationship with each person is unique, just as each person is unique. The point is experiencing God to the fullest degree in accordance with how that particular individual person is wired.
So if it’s not appearances or personality that matters, what does matter? Engagement with God matters—both intentional, structured times of being with God and spontaneous experiences of him. Engagement with God means talking with him, worshiping him, interacting with him, spending time with him, letting him examine our hearts, loving him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength. Another piece is listening to the Holy Spirit, becoming aware of where God is working, practicing a sensitivity to his presence. From there, we respond to the promptings of the Spirit in loving obedience and experience transformation—both inner and outer. Transformation is an ongoing process, not a one-time experience. As we engage with God and listen to the Spirit, God will continue to transform us throughout our lives.