Heaven....Promised to Them that Love Him!

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 

Yesterday, we looked at this verse from the perspective that we can receive a crown of life when we endure temptation.  But there is one other valuable truth that needs to be discussed.  This verse  gives two separate characteristics of a person that will go to heaven:  Enduring temptation AND Loving the Lord.

Heaven has only been promised to those that Love Him!

James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 

Loving God is not the only prerequisite to gaining heaven, but the Bible is clear that you cannot get into heaven without first loving him.  But we must be clear about the true nature of loving God.  Loving God is not just a favorable impression of him.  Loving God is not just having a warm and fuzzy feeling for him.  Loving God is not just being high on one’s priority list.  But rather, the Bible describes Love in a very unique manner.

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

Jesus himself says that loving God is not a casual or passive endeavor.  Instead, we must love him with all that we are.  He went on to say that loving God is the most important thing that we do.  But that still does not really describe HOW to love God.  To best understand that, we need to better understand how he loves us.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

God so loved that he GAVE!.  If we are going to love God in return, in a similar manner, our love must also be giving.  While time does not allow to fully discuss the idea of loving God in this way, here are a few scriptures that give us insight.

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 

In a very broad manner, to love in a giving way means that we should give up control of our own lives by denying what we want, what we think, what we desire and replace it with God wants, what God thinks and what pleases our Father.