Today, we wrap up our look at John Wesley’s three rules for how Christians should live. We started with “Do No Harm,” moved on to “Do Good,” and today, we look at his last directive, “Stay in Love with God.” (He actually said, “attend upon the ordinances of God,” but we’ve kind of simplified it to “Stay in love with God” over the years.)

These ordinances that Wesley wanted us to attend to were things like regular prayer, fasting, Bible study, participation in Worship—all of the spiritual practices that help us know God better, and therefore, love Him more. When we know God better, when we truly understand His heart and His amazing love for us, we can’t help but fall more in love with Him.

Think about when you fell in love. It most often begins as an infatuation—you want to be around that person ALL the time, and when you aren’t around them, you are talking about them, or thinking about them, or wishing you were with them. It’s all-consuming—you are about them, in all that you do. You want to know everything about them—everything from their past, every preference that they have, all their thoughts and opinions—your goal is to become an expert on that person. And, often times in that infatuation stage, they can do NO wrong. You love them, they are awesome, and they are the most perfect and beautiful creature you’ve ever encountered.

And then, as the infatuation develops in to a deeper, realer, more-lasting love, you move on beyond just knowing the facts, and likes and dislikes, and you get to know them as the real person that they are. You begin to understand the whys behind the preferences, and you see them on some of their bad days, and you realize that while maybe they aren’t as perfect as you once thought they were, there are parts of them that are even better than you realized. You stop loving the thought of the person, and start loving the real person—doing things like putting their needs before your own, making sacrifices for them, and understanding and connecting on a deeper level.

For us to “Stay in love with God,” we need to move on beyond that surface knowledge and infatuation. We need to pass that stage where God may be just a crush, where we like to talk about Him, and learn simple facts about Him, to where we really understand His heart. In order to have a real relationship with Him, we need to spend that time talking to Him, and reading His word, and listening. We need to be willing to make the sacrifices of putting His will above ours, and be willing to make Him our real priority. Not just our priority when it’s convenient, or even just in word, but our priority in deed. In doing. In actually taking time out of our day to spend with Him.

The best part about deepening this love relationship with God is that we will NOT be disappointed. As we get to know God better, we will not discover a bunch of hidden flaws—there are none. We will not find that He is impatient, or that He wakes up grumpy, or that He refuses to really listen when we talk. As you grow closer to Him, you will only come to find a million different reasons to love Him more. He is worthy of our love—the MOST worthy of our love. And He loves us back perfectly.