Have you ever contemplated the object of your love, and the reason for your love of that one. These stages have been a helpful understanding for me of myself and others. We find many people responding to Christ in stage 2; and rightly so. Our hope is that we all move to stage 3 as we experience God and the world more fully.
1 - I love myself for my own sake. The most basic kind of love. I cannot have an interest in anything that does not relate to myself. I love myself; looking out for my needs, and seeking my own pleasure. However, I begin to see that I cannot make it on my own, nor can I survive without something beyond myself.
2 - I love God for my own sake. I begin to recognize that God protects me, and provides for me. I worship God for his love for me. Little by little God becomes known to me by experience. I taste and see that God is good to me, which leads to tasting and seeing that God is good (period).
3 - I love God for God's sake. Whether or not things go my way. Whether I live in plenty or in want. When trials come, I don't wonder how God could let this happen. Instead, I lean into God. Knowing that God is good! As I cultivate this relationship, it is one that grows steadily for a long time.
4 - I love myself for God's sake. This is where my own self get's completely lost for a time. Spending time with God, and not knowing I am there. According to the "spiritual greats", this only happens for short times, before we are reminded of the fallen world we live in.
Spend some time in 1 John 4:7-21, and work some of this out.
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