Tonight I was talking to a few friends. I asked them all a quesiton. I asked them, "Do you love God?" They all three sincerely said, "yes." Then I told them, "For you three to sit here and tell me that you love God tells me two things. One, you are lying. OR Two, you don't know what it means to love God. Before you all lambaste me, and judge me for being judgmental, let me lay a few things out for you. This same group of guys (teenagers) a few weeks ago I asked them a question. I gave them a few examples of a "line" is. You know, like where is the line that determines what is "right or wrong" or "moral or immoral" in different issues. For example, is looking at a women and appreciating her beauty crossing the "line" of lust (those types of questions). Here are a couple of their "lines." Keep in mind, I did not ask them where they "thought" God's line was. I asked them where is "your" line. Where do "you " draw the line? Topic: [b]How far is too far with "making out"[/b]: Answer: "I would NEVER hae sex without a condom." - Each one of them agreed that unprotected sex was "their" line. They are all well aware, and could tell me that their line was beyond that of God's. Topic: [b]Drugs[/b] Answer: (summary) They all agreed that they personally saw nothing wrong with smoking marijuana. They feel that it shouldn't bother their parents, and people should leave them alone about it because it doesn't effect anyone else. Topic: [b]Honoring your parents.[/b] General consensus: Their parents won't listen to them, they over react, and they shouldn't be so strict, and that they don't have any real desire to honor their parents because their parents don't honor them. These friends of mine use foul language daily with their friends at school, while they restrain in front of me, they don't see anything wrong with swearing (after all, it is just letters from the alphabet.) I am WELL aware that many of you reading this probably agree with this one... lol They are not pure in their relationships with women. This is just a snapshot of how they live, and choices and decisions in their lives. They are all 15-16 years old. Tonight we discussed lust. They told me things like: "Well we know that God doesn't want us to have sex, but we can ask forgiveness later, that is what is so nice about God." or "It isn't very high as an important "sin" for me." They are not motivated in any way enough to make changes in their lives and daily living to conform to that of Christ likeness. So I told them. "You either are lying when you say that you love God, or you have understanding of what it means to say that you love God." They were... hurt.. angry... upset... One of them called me a dick. (He might have been justified) I then began to share with them about what it means to love God. How it is a life choice, not an intellectual thought. I gave them Scripture like John 15:23Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. I tried to express to them that if they loved God, then they would desire to do His will more than their own. As long as they live for themselves... etc... etc.. So then... I realize that everything I said, if God looks at my life, and daily activities, "What does He think?" Do I reflect loving Him? Do I make every decision in my life based on how it will effect my relationship with Him? Does every word that proceeds from my mouth, every thought in my mind, every desire of my heart conform to Him? Of course I can't say, "Yes" to those questions. So I hear God say, "Do you love me?" and I say "Yes" Then God reveals what his question truly means, and He asks me again, "Matt, Do you love Me?" I can do nothing but fall on my knees and cry for forgivenss and mercy, which He so freely gives. My greatest desire in life is for God to look at me and say, "This is my son in who I am well pleased." I hope He can say that, I hope and pray that I can please Him with all that I am, and everything I've got. Father, I am yours. In Christ, -Matt Gaiser