How Do I Love God?

We are told over and over again: Love the Lord your God, but what does that mean? How do we do that? Do we sit there and try to create positive emotions toward God and maintain that happy feeling for Him all the time? No, that’s ridiculous. While feelings are an important part of love, actions and choices are what define and sustain it. Those actions are going to be different for every person that we love, but the way we all demonstrate our love for God is by obeying His good commands. The problem is, none of us can do that perfectly. We all miss the Mark We fail to love God as He deserves to be loved. But the good news is Jesus already did it for us! He obeyed God perfectly during His life on earth, died to take our sins upon Himself and to give us His righteousness before God, and rose from the dead to defeat Satan, sin, and death. He has also given the Holy Spirit to those who know Him, which helps us to love God by obeying Him. Loving God doesn’t mean you can’t share feelings of anger or fear with Him. Quite the opposite! There are many examples in the Psalms of people calling out to God in anger and frustration, but that doesn’t mean they failed to love Him in those moments. The psalmists always ended with a reminder of how good God is. By doing so, they were continuing to obey God and love Him even in their anger. When God reminds me of what He has done for me through Jesus, it leads me to love Him more and more. The Holy Spirit works in me to help me obey Him out of love and gratitude, not out of pride or shame. Because God loves us, He gave us commands that reflect His goodness. And because of what He does in us and for us, we can love Him by obeying those good commands. • Taylor Eising When do you struggle to love God? What are some ways that you can ask Him to help you in those moments? How does God’s love for us help us to love Him more? If you love me, you will keep my commands. John 14:15 (CSB)

Read Verses:

Matthew 22:36-40; 2 John 1:5-6