Experience the love of God

Do you see the difference between an old car with a defective engine, which can not move forward, and a new car that works without problems? It is the same difference that exists between a person who believes in Jesus without feeling the love of God and a Christian who experiences the love and presence of God in his life.

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Many Christians live their lives by their own strength, striving to do things well, to please God, to do good deeds. But often they feel dry inside. Many also struggle with recalcitrant sins, not knowing how to deal with them.

We need the wisdom, love and strength of God every day to make us stand up and love our neighbor as ourselves. It is illusory to think that we are going by our own abilities, to be able to love others as Jesus did. Equally illusory is to fight alone against the temptations of the world or the sin within us.

The good news of the gospel is that it is possible to feel the love of God. For this, one must be united to Christ: "As soon as someone joins Christ, he is a new being: the old has disappeared, the new is there." (Epistle 2 Corinthians chapter 5 v.17)

We'll see what that means because the Bible gives us the keys. But beware: this is not magic, neither immediate nor definitive. It is an arduous journey, learning and vigilance every day. Not for God: for us, for what blocks in us the action of God.

The role of the Holy Spirit

The apostle Paul writes: "God has poured out his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that he has given us" (Romans 5: 5).

In other words, it is the Holy Spirit that allows us to feel the love of God.

The Holy Spirit (= the Spirit of God) is deposited in us when we accept God's forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

How does the Holy Spirit allow us to feel the love of God and to have victory over our defects?

Simply, making room on the one hand and filling us with the love of God for the other. The theory is simple, the practice a little more complicated:

God is holy, says the Bible. That means it does not hurt him. He is pure, he is only love and justice. He does not cohabit with sin. On the contrary, we have sin in us: a principle of self-determination that has plunged us into selfishness, pride and evil. This sin is an obstacle, a barrier that prevents God from filling us completely with his love.

To experience God is therefore:

• First, learn to get rid of sin. It must be renewed by the action of God, wash, purify, change, in our emotions, our feelings, our way of seeing things.
• Then, it is learning to receive the love of God and be filled by him so that our life is fulfilled more.