\It (love) always protects, always trusts, always
hopes, always perseveres.\  (1 Corinthians 13:7)

What if the feeling for God comes and goes?
There is at least one truth about feelings:  they all come and go; they can be up one minute and down the next. No matter how you are feeling about someone or something, there is one thing that you can count on:  given enough time, you will feel the opposite at some point.  That\'s the fickle nature of feelings. 

I have known many good-hearted children of God who have been deceived by Satan into thinking that if they do not continuously have the feeling of love for God, then that must mean that they do not love God with all their hearts.  Is that true?  Remember the truth about feelings:  they come and go.

If that is true, then what chance do any of us have to obeying that command with any consistency?  We need to understand what kind of love God commands in the greatest commandment. The language that Jesus spoke was Greek.  The Greek language has several words that are all translated as love by the English language.  Unfortunately, the English word love encompasses a wide field of meanings and is used to describe how we may feel about a new piece of clothing, a pet, a car accessory, a food, or a person.  The Greek language has different words for the different kinds of love.

Deeper than just a feeling
The word that Jesus used in Matthew 22:37-38 in this command for love is the Greek word agapao.   Is agapao the kind of \love\ that is a fickle feeling that we can have one day and not the next?  Is it the kind that we had as adolescents--where we told someone we \loved\ them and the next day could not bear to be around them?  No, agapao is not this kind of \love\.  That kind of \love\ is a feeling of infatuation, a \love\ that is fickle, and a \love\ that lacks commitment or staying power.  Agapao is not some ecstatic feeling that spontaneously washes over us.  When you think about it, it could not be this because a feeling of \love\ cannot be commanded! 

The truth is that the Greek word agapao is much deeper than just a feeling.  It is a decision--an unconditional commitment of relationship--an unconditional love.  Agapao is devotion.  If you have been married for many years, then you probably know the kind of love that this is.  It is the kind of love that keeps you in the relationship during the tough times--during the challenging times.  Agapao is not for quitters.  (\...It {agapao} always perseveres\  1 Corinthians 13:7)  You cannot demonstrate agapao and quit on your relationship with God or others.

Actually when you demonstrate agapao, you realize that the warm affectionate feelings really come as a result of agapao.  When you do what pleases God, regardless of how you may be feeling at the moment, a mysterious thing happens:  your affection for Him increases and deepens.  That\'s the nature of affectionate feelings.  They follow acts of love (agapao). 

Does the absence of a \feeling of love\ for God make us hypocrites?  Does it make us disobedient to the greatest commandment?  Not at all!  First, we must stop thinking of loving God as a feeling and more as an undeterred devotion and obedience to Him.  (\Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.\  John 14:21)   So just because at a particular time in our lives we do not have a \feeling of love\ for God, it does not mean that we do not whole-heartedly love Him or that we are a hypocrite.  Secondly, we need to understand what hypocrisy is.  It is pretending to be somebody that you are not.  (Matt 23:25)  So in this case, you would be a hypocrite if you were pretending to be wholehearted when you really weren\'t.   If hypocrisy is the real concern, then be open and real about where your heart is really at with those who can truly help you.  And follow their godly counsel!