Loving God

Loving God is the highest achievement a human being can do and out of loving God comes true humanity and compassion. To love God is the first and greatest command and the most natural for a Christian to do. God has shown us his love by Christ dying for us while we were still sinners (Rom. 5.8). We love him because he loved us first (1 John 4:19). Loving God is our response to the forgiveness he has given us. The more we see and the more we understand of the forgiveness of sins the more we will love God. (see Luke 7:47). Love is a fruit of the working of God’s Spirit in our lives (Rom.5:5;15:30) and comes from knowing the extent of Christ’s love (Eph.3:18-19).

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart

Love is a matter of the heart. Our relationship to God is a heart relationship, it is to put him first and to love him above all else. It is to love God more than any person or material thing. To love God with the whole of our heart is to give him our love, devotion and worship. It is to be willing to give up everything we care about to serve him.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul or all your life

This means that you give your whole life to him, because the soul means the whole of you. To love God with all your soul is to dedicate your life to his service. You let love drive you to live for him and you are willing to do all he wishes.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your mind

This means that you subordinate your mind under God’s will. It is to love his word and his divine plan more than our own thoughts and decisions. It is to be willing to subordinate all our abilities to his teaching in the Bible, under the leading of his Spirit, and to dedicate all our intellectual skills and the results of all our intellectual activity to him.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your might (Mark 12.30)

This means that you love him with the whole of yourself. It means that you express your love for him with all the abilities of your body and soul. To love God with all your might is to be active and work all you can to honour him. It is to make it your goal in everything to bring honour to him and show him your love.

How we express our love to God

To love God is to keep his commands

True believers have always been those who «love the Lord and keep his commands» (see Exod.20:6, Deut.5:10; 7:9; 11:1; Dan.9:4) for his commands are good laws of love and they provide security for everyone. Jesus put it like this:

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14:21 )

If anyone loves me he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23)

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (John 15:10)

To love God is to serve him

Love always shows itself in action and love for God will always lead to service for God. Loving God is exclusive and rules out loving the world (1 John 2:15-17) and makes it impossible to love and serve Mammon (Matt.6:24). We cannot serve two masters, therefore true believers have always been called «those who love and serve the Lord» (see Deut.10:12; 11:13; Isa.56:6).

I love the Father and I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. (John 14:31)

No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matt. 6:24)

‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’ (John 4.34)

To love God is to walk in his ways

Love has within it the desire to be together with the loved one, to walk together towards the same goal. To love God is to walk in his ways, it is to hold oneself near to God and to have fellowship with him. To walk in his ways is to do things the way he does, so that his character and qualities show themselves in our way of life. God is good, righteous, holy, pure, gracious, compassionate, faithful etc. To walk in his ways is to live in accordance with his nature and character. (See Deut.10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 30:16; Josh.22:5; 23:11)

‘The Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.’ (John 5:19-20)

‘By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgement is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.’ (John 5:30)

Exercise:

How do you show your love for God?

Loving God - the greatest of all

Jesus says that to love God is the first and greatest of all the commandments. It is the first, not in time but in importance, it is of the greatest value, is the most outstanding in content and endurance. It is the source of all good principles and rules of life.

All created beings should be loved for their good qualities. God is the best, the highest and most glorious of all beings and must therefore be loved more highly than all others. When we love God in the right way we shall also be able to love everyone and everything he has created in the right way.

Exercise:

Is loving God the greatest of all in your life?

Continue to memorise the previous Bible verses and add this one to your list:

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)