Are you in love with God? In 1 John, the author has a lot to say about the love of God and the way that love changes our lives. We love because God first loved us. God's love fills us to overflowing so that it flows through us to other people. Annie Dillard said that we catch grace like a man filling a cup underneath a waterfall.1 That's the way we receive God's love. But there can be a problem for us when we put a lid on our cups and the water can't get inside. We're closing our hearts off to the love of God.

The Christian faith is about a relationship. We tend to forget that. As Lutherans, we often act like it's all about getting our theology right. We have to have the proper understanding of holy communion, and we have to know how to interpret the Bible correctly. We act like the Chris…