How Does One Love God?

How Does One Love God?

The Bible speaks of ways we can show love to God. If you find you are experiencing problems in your

relationship with the Heavenly Father, consider doing what the Bible says in order to maintain and deepen

your relationship with Him. Sin will always be our greatest stumbling block when it comes this relationship

and we must deal with the sin in our lives if we want to stay close to God. For our purposes now, let’s

focus on our understanding of love and ways we can show love to God.

First of all, the only way we can love God is to be loved by Him first. We need to understand what God’s

love is in order for us to respond accordingly.

1 John 4:19 NIV
We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:10 NIV
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an 

atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 NIV

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Deuteronomy 30:6 NIV 
The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, 

so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Deuteronomy 10:14-16:

To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord set his affection

on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. Circumcise your hearts,

therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.

1 John 3:16 NIV
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay 

down our lives for our brothers.

John 3:16-17 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

We can better respond in love when we get a sense of what it is to be loved. The way God loves us is

Supernatural (forces or phenomena which are not subject to natural laws, and therefore beyond verifiable measurement). In a Supernatural way, the Holy Spirit working in us, brings about this supernatural understanding of love and helps us respond back to God in the same way. This change in our attitude toward  God and others can only come by believing Christ’s sacrificial love will save us through our decision to receive Him as Lord and Savior. Only through Jesus do have we the ability to see others through a God filter and love in a supernatural Christ-like way. In order to have this “God Filter” one must renew their mind, then put on the new self which is how we are conformed to the image of Christ.

Romans 12:2 NIV

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Ephesians 4:22-24 TNIV

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

   

Renewing of the mind:

• Understanding the length God went to redeem His people.
• Understanding the depth of God’s love, mercy, forgiveness and grace.
• Transformation due to the filling of the Holy Spirit.
• Sanctification (God helping us to become Christ-like in Character) as part of our daily walk with God.

• Gratitude for all God has done.
• Living in awe, reverence and humility toward God.
• Applying God’s principles from His Word to help in our transformation.

Because of the indwelling Holy Spirit and God’s life changing Word, we can have a heart attitude that

transcends the bounds of this world and brings about in us the Christ-like qualities that can only be found

in the Lord Himself. This is the way God has designed the “New Self” (the new creation in Christ) to be:

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV 
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Jesus alone reconciles us back to God. Because of Jesus we have a new life and a new heart attitude.

Because of Jesus’ work and ministry can we better understand the purpose behind God’s creation of mankind.  God loves His people and He desires that they love, serve and fellowship with Him for eternity.

We must also remember that God commands us to Love Him and others. Even though loving God and

others comes primarily from a response in our gratitude for the love Jesus had for us through His work on the

cross, it is also the greatest Commandment from God. Followers of Jesus are called to respond obediently to

this command to love God, obey His Word and abide by Jesus’ teachings.

Mark 12:30 NIV
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind 

and with all your strength.

Galatians 5:14 TNIV 
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 

John 14:15 NIV
If you love me, you will obey what I command.

John 14:21 NIV
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 14:23 NIV
Jesus replied, "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 15:10 NIV
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.

1 John 2:5 NIV
But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we 

know we are in him:

1 John 5:3 NIV
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

2 John 1:6 NIV
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the 

beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

By following God’s command to Love others we show love to God and

prove we are His disciples.

John 13:34 NIV
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

John 13:35 NIV
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

John 15:12 NIV
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

1 John 4:7 NIV
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has 

been born of God and knows God

1 John 4:12 NIV
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is 

made complete in us.

Having a healthy fear of God is another way we show our love and respect to our Creator. It is also a

mindset that helps deter us from the trappings of sinful behavior. Fear of the Lord, which can also defined

as reverence and respect to Him, is the path to wisdom and understanding. When we take into account

God’s holiness and sovereignty we are more likely to abide by His principles and walk in His ways.

Psalm 111:10 NIV  
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13:

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God

to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

A big part of loving God is living a life of praise, worship & dedication to Him. We must daily keep in mind

all He has done and respond back, revealing our gratitude by exposing the true condition of our heart. Some

Christians only apply this principle on Sunday. We are called to live a life of worship.

Hebrews 12:28 NIV 
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship

God acceptably with reverence and awe

1 Peter 3:15 NIV 
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

Deuteronomy 10:17-22:

For the LORD your God is God of gods and LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the

LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

John 4:23-24 NIV 
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Psalm 96:1-4 NIV

Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.

Psalm 98:4-6 NIV

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;

make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing,

with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn— shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

 Psalm 100 NIV

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.  Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Our desire to be Holy and conform to the image of Christ also shows God we are serious about

about pleasing Him.

Romans 12:1 NIV

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,

holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual  act of worship.

1 Peter 1:14-16 NIV

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Fulfilling God’s command to go out and make disciples proves we care about God, His Kingdom,

and those who are lost and designated to receive everlasting life.

Matthew 28:18-20 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Acts 1:8 NIV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,

and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Some people have difficulty showing God love because they respond to Him in the same manner they

respond to other human beings. They base their love on what God is providing at the time. This 

performance based love does not bode well in light of eternity. But with the Holy Spirit at the helm of our lives, we can have a much different perspective on God. The Holy Spirit can open the doors to our hearts and minds. We can then love God in a deep and intimate way based on the knowledge given and gratitude we feel for having been saved from our sin. This kind of Love can be coined as a “supernatural response to a supernatural God”. What is the most important is that we love God first and foremost. Let’s approach each day and make our best attempt to love our Lord through our actions, our thoughts and our obedience to His Word.

Just one after thought. The fact that we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior is the proof that we love God

because it shows that we are trusting God with our lives and with our eternity. Our faith in God is what sustains us in this life. In fact, this life is our preparation for our eternity with God. How we use our time, talent and resources, will shed light on our love and devotion to God. I pray that we will continue to love God by focusing on the mission to help all people become fully devoted followers of Jesus. By giving God the best of our time, talent and resources, we will play a significant role in the lives of those God sends our way. What a privilege it is to serve our Heavenly Father as we play a role in advance of His kingdom here on this earth.

So, as we try to live a life of worship, as we try to show love for God, let’s remember that He is worthy

of whatever sacrifice we need to make to put Him first. It is interesting to note that many people have

experienced their greatest sense of peace while in deep relationship with God.

Matthew 11:28-30 TNIV

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Followers of Jesus have a lot to be thankful for. The fact that we have a new eternal purpose and

perspective on life can easily help us live with resounding joy. We have hope. We can be at peace

with God. We can love sacrificially. We can live by faith knowing God will keep His promises.

We have the Holy Spirit to guide us every step of the way. We can trust God with our lives and believe

His Word to help us live a life worthy of His calling.   

It is easier to love someone knowing how much they love you. God has gone to great lengths to show

us how much He loves us.

John 3:16-17 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

We have an awesome God worthy of our deepest affection.

 Just Sayin………………..Dave