Unseen

 If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both. (1 John 4:20-21, MSG)

When it comes to friends (or family members), I believe it is possible to care deeply (and love someone) with every fiber of your body. I think also that you can realize that you really don’t like the above person because of the negativity (or drama) that seems to swirl around them. This person is not someone you want to be around (by choice) until radical change happens.

Can the same hold true in a relationship with your heavenly Father? In my opinion the answer to that question is “no.” There can be no halfway point in your love for God. (You are either all in or all out.) When it comes to showing any degree of love for God, this is demonstrated though our love for His creation, the human being. For me, the real question to gain from the above verse is “if I don’t care for people, is my love for God genuine?”

1 John 2:15(VOICE) gives us further information on the love/like dilemma with God. “Don’t fall in love with this corrupt world or worship the things it can offer. Those who love its corrupt ways don’t have the Father’s love living within them.” With God, you can’t have it both ways. Your actions decide where your relationship stands with your heavenly Father. Being so engrossed in trying to get the next best thing in life (whether that’s things, money, relationships, or prestige) makes it difficult to see (and obey) in what your Heavenly is permanent and of divine importance.