This question is very important in this generation because without loving God, we cannot worship Him in truth and in spirit. The scriptures stated in the book of Deuteronomy 6 verse 5 thus: And thou shall love God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. So, to love God is a total submission of our wills to His Will because we trust and have faith in Him that He is our Father and creator and means well for us at all times.
Let us now examine what true love is all about using contemporary terms. To understand what is actually true love, we have to first and foremost understand the true definition of love.
The Collins dictionary summarised that when you love someone, there is an intense feeling of desire and appreciation from the inside towards that person. In essence, when you truly love someone, you will not want to hurt the person in anyway because you want the person to be happy all the time.
In the same way, if we say we love God, then we should do everything possible to please Him always.
God lamented in Genesis 6:5-6 that He regretted creating man on earth. Why did He lament? Answer: Because man failed Him in not living a holy and righteous life as He expected him to live.
Genesis 6:5-6 says: And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts if his heart was only evil continually. And verse 6 says: And it repented the LORD that He had made man on earth, and it grieved Him in His Heart.
So God has a heart and has emotions and if you say you love God, you have to ensure that God is happy all the time with your conduct. From the verses quoted, God regretted creating man because man continued in sin. So, if you say you love God and don’t want God to be hurt in His emotions, depart from sin and commit yourself to living a holy life always.
If somebody for instance hates the smell of cigarette and you always smoke around the person to offend the person, it shows that you don’t really care for the feelings of that person and of course you don’t love that person even though you may claim to love the person from your words. Love is total and if you truly love God, you should submit totally to doing His will to make Him happy.
God has a plan for creating humans and the plan is for humans to live a holy life continuously so that there can be a continuous fellowship with Him. Love is not by compulsion but by choice. If love is forced, then it is no more love but fear and this is the reason God gave all of us the freewill to chose to love Him or not.
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If a wife feigns loyalty to the husband out of fear, that is not love. Love is when the wife appreciates the husband so much that she wants to make him happy all the time. In the same way, if the husband loves his wife, he will do all things to make the wife happy.
So, if you love God and you know that God hates sin, depart from sin because every sin you commit hurts the emotions of God. God wants us to love by choice and not by force and that is why Jesus Christ came and opened the gate for those who are willing to change from their sins and embrace holiness.
God so love humanity that He released His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to come down to the earth to save us from sin and all powers of darkness. So, Love is sacrifice. That means, you have to sacrifice your desires at times to please the person you love. For instance, we have read from Genesis 6 that God regretted creating man because man continued in sin and if we say we truly love God, we have to sacrifice sin and follow holiness and righteousness. Jesus Christ has come to earth and gone back to Heaven and He said that if we say we love Him, we should keep His commandments. Jesus said in the book of John chapter 14 verse 15 thus: If you love me, keep my commandments.
Are you keeping the commandments of Christ or you just claim you love Christ but do the opposite of His will.
God will not force anyone to love Him but loving God and keeping His commandments is in our own interest. God wants us to be happy and when we are happy, He is happy. Do you really love God? Then keep His commandments of holiness, righteousness and loving your neighbor the way you love yourself, and your life will keep on blossoming to higher heights. God bless us in Jesus Name.
Pastor ESANEROVO TRINITY AGBODO is a Contributing Editor of The Trumpet Newspaper and can be reached on eagbodo@gmail.com
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