Recently, I was talking to a woman that I am very interested in. I told her that I love Jesus. She said that she believed in God too and then asked me what rules do I follow? I thought about it for a moment and I was not sure what to say. Eventually, I did tell her that I do not follow a set of rules as my relationship is not about rules but about love. I then did tell her later that I follow the rule that I (try to) treat others the way I want to be treated. And #2, I love God. I could not think of any other answer at the time as I do not believe smoking is a sin and I do not agree with axioms like do not drink, dance, or chew or go with girls that do!  But if I do not do something like that in front of another person, it is because I am trying to not offend them—which brings me back to rule #1 that I already stated I try to follow. When I go to church, it is because I want to know God better, rule #2—not because it is a rule. She liked these answers. I still did not get a date…yet.

I started to think about the “rules” of past human relationships. I thought back to being in a long-term relationship with someone. There were rules around the house regarding the toilet area. There were rules regarding dishes in the sink. There were rules regarding dirty clothes. All of these rules I tried to follow to the best of my ability because I was in love with the person that I was with. Some of them seemed stupid. I had to be reminded of some of them more often than not. A lot of them I just followed because I wanted to have a happy *wife* and a happy life. I remembered these rules as what I would like to call, “rules of love”. I followed these rules because I did not want anything in the way of us getting to know each other better.

While there is not a 100% parallel, following God’s rules of loving others and putting Him first, are definitely, to me, “rules of love”.  Jesus said that these are the most important (in Matthew 22:34-45).  If I do not do something like see an R-rated movie or listen to Depeche Mode, it is because I do not want to deaden my sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. I also try to listen to my conscience and others who I trust to guide me correctly—just not everyone. I have a hope of seeing God more clearly and following Him more nearly, and loving Him more dearly. The church is called, “the Bride of Christ”. So I also follow the two ultimate rules of loving God and others to be the happy wife with a happy life.

Maybe you do not feel a love for God. Spend some time with Him and get to know Him. Your heart will blossom.