To answer this critical question we must understand what loving God means or entails. Is loving God based on a feeling, a position, a proclamation…?
It is necessary to first understand that love is very important to God. God loves His people and longs for them to love Him back. He also expects us to love each other.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37
From God’s side, the ultimate expression of His love was when Jesus gave up His life in our place so that we could be set free and live in harmony with God forever. God’s love towards us involves action.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
You may ask why was that even necessary? Well, in the beginning God entrusted people with all of creation to enjoy, experience and develop His handiwork. In order to do that safely, God put in place a rule which mankind didn’t keep. This failure caused a domino effect that continued into all future generations. It is like gifting your son or daughter a sports car and asking them to put on their seat-belt and drive only on paved roads, but instead they go onto the only gravel road in town without a seat-belt and experience a fatal accident.
Now instead of being born into a healthy relationship with God, every person have to make a conscious choice to own up to your shortcomings and accept that Jesus paid the price for you, ask forgiveness and change your ways with His help.
With all of the above in mind, I think it is fair to say that loving God should at least include being grateful toward Him for what He has done for us. Scripture says that God does value that, but from the beginning loving God was defined as living within the rules He has set as a Holy God. All throughout the centuries in God’s interactions with His people and re-affirmed by Jesus Christ, God defines love by actions and choices. We see this principle displayed in our own lives in being there for loved ones and doing stuff for them not just saying that we love them.
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations” – Deuteronomy 7:9
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me [Jesus]. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” – John 14:21
According to God, we show our love for Him by keeping His commandments which we know is for our own benefit also. The following are some of God’s commandments.
Love God above all, Love others, Respect God, Take a day of rest and spend time with God, Treat your parents well and respect them, Don’t kill or murder another, Don’t sleep with another’s husband or wife, Don’t steal, Do not lie or bear false witness about another, Don’t covet anything that belongs to another, Don’t get drunk which lead to sin, do not consult mediums, Look after the widows that are in need etc.
Even though it is impossible for you and me to never sin (not obey all the commandments), it is indeed possible to try our best and mostly live the right way. Being set free by Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can indeed continuously improve.
When you love God you want to keep His commandments and are sad when you fail to do so. You ask God for His forgiveness and turn away from that behavior.
However, viewing what God has done through Jesus as a get out of jail card only to keep on sinning without any regret is not loving God. It is also not loving your neighbor. If this is how you see Jesus and your relationship with God, I beg you to reconsider.
“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” –Romans 6:14
Through loving God, by keeping His commandments, we love our neighbors and we love ourselves by remaining under the protection of the Holy God.
Have a blessed week.
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