I got locked out the other day. No, it wasn’t from my house, it was from my iPad. I could not remember my password. I had recently installed the new operating system and it required me to put in a password. I thought I used the one I have on my computer at work. But when I tried to start my iPad it wouldn’t open.
Whatever password I decided on was a good one because it kept me locked out all day. If you try 10 different passwords and fail to get it right, then the iPad will lock you out for various lengths of time. I was up to the one hour waiting period between attempts at logging in. The librarian at school gave me some hints to try and help me remember. I tried various ideas which failed and required an hour of waiting between each attempt.
I finally considered a password that I was convinced I would never use because it was something too simple. I punched it in and my iPad opened right up. I am thinking of disabling the locking mechanism. I don’t ever want to have that problem again.
Our society has become password riddled. At first we got a password to get into our email. Now there is a password for everything: bank accounts, credit cards, websites, medical records, business accounts… and the list goes on. Then you need pass codes to get into doors, lockers, phones and iPads. How are we supposed to remember them all?
Many years ago, I knew a technology person who told me that he had a chart that looked like an eye chart hanging in his office. The eye chart contained all his passwords. That is a sneaky but effective way to keep up with all those passwords.
I was wondering after such a struggle with my iPad, if God had a password on His heart, what would it be? I believe the password would be: LOVE. God wants to love us and he wants us to love him. God loves us far beyond what we can imagine, so he desires that we love him. I believe that is the key to knowing God, by simply loving him. He wants to reveal himself to us and he does it through love.
First, we have to learn to accept his love. That can be difficult because we often do not feel worthy of God’s love. We sin and we fail God, but we are his children and he loves us in spite of ourselves. Nothing can separate us from his love, so we have to open our hearts and allow his love to permeate us.
Second, we need to express our love to God. How do you love God whom you can’t see, or touch? We need to talk with him through prayer. He wants us to share our needs and concerns with him. We need to worship him and lift up his name. We ought to sing praises and bring honor to Him.
We can also show our love for God by reading the Bible and being obedient to what we learn. When we have it in our hearts to be obedient to God’s word, even though we sometimes fail, we are showing him our love. The best way to express your love is with your mouth; by saying “I love you” to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Another way to unlock God’s heart is through loving each other. It is important to be an active member of the family of God. I know that there are imperfect people there, but loving them will show the world that the Father’s heart is beating within you.
We should also take God’s love to the lost. Nothing excites God or heaven more than when a lost sinner comes home. When we love those who are outside the Kingdom of God we are doing the very thing that is in God’s heart. He wants everyone in a relationship with him and he wants to use people like you and me to invite them into that relationship.
I want to encourage you to discover the password to God’s heart, which is love. God loves you but he also loves your neighbor. He wants us to fill up on his love and share it with others. You are worthy of God’s unconditional love. He wants you to be a vessel that will carry his love to the lost, your neighbors and those hurting in the pews next to you. There are three most important things: faith, hope, and love but the greatest is love.

Doug Creamer teaches marketing at East Davidson High School. His website is located at www.dougcreamer.com Contact him at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041 or email doug@dougcreamer.com