We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

None can know their election but by their conformity to Christ; for all who are chosen are chosen to sanctification.
Matthew Henry

Self-denial corrects two evil tendencies ever attacking Christian ethics. There is a tendency to give more attention to outward standards than to the inward state of the heart. And there is a tendency to be strict with others and lenient with oneself… These two dragons are slain by the sword of self-denial when their heads appear in the land of Christian liberty.
Walter Chantry