How to Love God

Written by Sherri Bergmann 

Valentine’s Day places the spotlight on showing our significant other how much they mean to us, even though we should demonstrate our love every day just as much. The same is with God, the most significant person in our life.

He’s a spirit, but he’s also a person. As the late Billy Graham put it, “God also is a Person. A person acts—and so does God. He feels, thinks, sympathizes, forgives, decides, acts, judges, and loves. God is not an impersonal force or power; He is a Person—the most perfect Person imaginable. There is, of course, a vast difference between God’s personality and ours: He is perfect, but we are not.”¹ 

God desires, and deserves, our attention and love above anyone else.

“Jesus answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” —Mark 12:29-31

 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” —Proverbs 4:23

While we look at others by their appearance, God looks at our hearts. Our heart is considered the base of our emotions, desires and will, from which our passions flow that affect our thoughts and actions. Our heart is the core of making a choice or decision – with the most important being to follow Christ or not.

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” —Genesis 2:7

“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” —Matthew 16:26

Jesus emphasized that the soul is worth more than the whole world. Our soul is who we are as a whole person – our personality, mind, emotions, and will. Our soul connects our spirit with our body. Both the body and soul can die, but God is the only one who can preserve us or extinguish our self forever.

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” —Matthew 10:28

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” —2 Corinthians 10:5

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” —Romans 12:2

Don’t let your thoughts become negative or stray from the truth, actively replace them with God’s truth.

“Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.” —Exodus 17:11-13

We give our all to accomplish His purpose.

“Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” —1 John 14:23-24

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” —1 John 5:3. 

Different Bible versions use the word burdensome instead of grievous. Some people think it’s hard to follow God. Initially, that may seem to be true when the Father of Lies winks at us, but Hell makes us pay. Obeying God doesn’t add burdens to our life, nor cause us grief.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” —1 John 13:34

“If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” —1 John 4:20

When we love others, we are loving God. The opposite is also true.

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” —Matt 25:37-40

How we love others is the reflection of how much we love God.

“Daniel always prayed to God three times every day. Three times every day, he bowed down on his knees to pray and praise God. Even though Daniel heard about the new law, he still went to his house to pray.” —Daniel 6:10

Relationship building with God was so important to Daniel he set aside regular times to pray every day, people knew His prayer schedule. Daniel’s enemies used this knowledge to set Daniel up to die and tricked the king to declaring a law that those who didn’t worship his majesty would be thrown into the lion’s den. Because Daniel had built a relationship with God over time, He knew God, and that loving God was a higher priority than obeying the king.

Daniel also knew and obeyed God’s commandments. The more we know what the Bible says, and pray to God, the more we will know Him.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” —James 4:8

The best way to build a relationship with someone is to spend time with them.

All of God’s commandments and the attitudes of those who followed God in the Bible are summed up in loving God and others. 

“Love is the greatest.” —1 Corinthians 13:13

Because God is love.