We all have questions, and you have asked a great one! How can I love God? Let’s see what the Bible has to say.
Today we will be talking about the following?
- How Can I Love God?
- Show God’s Love by Loving Others
- We Can Love God Because He Loved us First
- We Can Love God Because Jesus Died for Our Sins
- We Can Love God by Obeying Him
- 4 Ways to Love God
How Can I Love God?
“We love Him because He first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:19-20)?”
The Apostle John wrote to Christians who bragged about how much more they loved God compared to others. John rebuked their boasting, saying that God loved us before we loved Him. He initiated our loving relationship with Him. When anyone boasts against a brother, they’re building themselves up at the other’s expense. John tells these brothers they can’t brag about how much they love God if they don’t love their brother. So, ironically, those who bragged the most about loving God were loving Him the least. You can find more about God’s love here.
Show God’s Love by Loving Others
We can’t see God, but we can see our Christian brother. Christians represent Jesus, and that is observable. Jesus said whoever does anything for “the least of these,” i.e., the disadvantaged and oppressed, has done it for Him (Matthew 25:31-46).
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).”
We Can Love God Because He Loved us First
All believers were, at one time, sinners, and enemies of God. But God took the initiative to send Jesus to save and cleanse us so we could become children of God. Believers’ love for God responds to what God initiated, not us. And that’s been true from the beginning of the Bible story.
After Adam and Eve sinned, sin broke their fellowship with God. They hid from God’s holiness because of their sin. Yet, God sought them out:
“The Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you (Genesis 3:9)?”
Again, God took the initiative to restore their fellowship with Him by dressing them in animal skins. Those animals died in their place as a temporary covering for their sin to satisfy God’s holiness. But animal blood could not permanently take away sin. That permanent removal of sin didn’t happen until Jesus died in our place on the cross. Jesus tells us what the greatest love is:
We Can Love God Because Jesus Died for Our Sins
“Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).”
Jesus loved us with the highest love. Again, God took the initiative to remove our sin through the Person of Jesus. We didn’t come to Him first looking for love while we were friends. He died for us while we were still enemies.
Bottom Line: The way to love God and Jesus more is to learn more about how much they’ve loved us.
We’ve seen that God has taken the initiative to love us first. So, how do we love Him?
While Jesus was in Jerusalem during the week they crucified Him, someone asked Him what the greatest commandment is:
“Jesus answered him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…soul…mind, and…strength. This is the first commandment. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.] There is no other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:29-32).”
We Can Love God by Obeying Him
This love is more than a feeling. It looks out for another’s well-being. Of course, God can take care of Himself. But He’s allowed us to participate in His plan. We are partners to advance His Kingdom. The Bible tells us about the key behind this type of love for God: it’s obedience. God hasn’t revealed all of His plans to us, but even so, we can respond in obedience because we love and trust Him.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father. And I will love him and will reveal Myself to him (John 14:21).”
When Jesus talks about His commandments, He doesn’t mean the ten commandments. The ten commandments–Moses’ Law–are no longer valid because Jesus is the new High Priest:
“For a change in the priesthood necessitates a change in the law (Hebrews 7:12).”
The new commandment is to love one another. Under Jesus’ priesthood, we are now adult children of God. We’re responsible for training our consciences to discern between good and evil and love each other. (Hebrews 5:14).
Jesus said He will reveal Himself to those who obey His commands. Jesus promises He’ll have better fellowship with the obedient. That person will be specially loved by Jesus and the Father.
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8).”
Conclusion: 4 Ways to Love God
- The way to learn to love God and Jesus more is to understand how much they’ve loved us.
- We can’t love God if we don’t love our brother.
- Jesus showed us the highest love by laying down His life for us.
- We demonstrate our love for God through obedience to His commands.
We invite you to watch the GREAT NEWS FOR YOU Video on this page to find out how you too can know God through the free gift of salvation. New life can be yours today!
