Loving God

In July, I did a series of posts on love, looking at a Bible-based definition, AI's take, and love's object. Those posts were generic, yet the focus was on loving people. Today, I look at what it means to love God.

My definition of love from the first linked post above was as follows:

Love is the self-sacrificial and self-forgetful care for and building up of others demonstrated by action, affection, attitude, endurance, and optimism.

I think that reasonably covers what it means to love other people, but does all of that apply to God? We can't care for or build up God. Yet Jesus says the first and great commandment is that "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:36-38).

So what does loving God look like? How can we love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind?

One important factor is obedience. If we love God we will keep his commandments (John 14:15). That means keeping God's law, but not in a legalistic way as the Pharisees were famous for doing (Matthew 5:19-20); they would tithe down to the most precise amount, yet neglect weightier things (Matthew 23:23). So an important aspect of obedience is doing so in the spirit of the law, not just the letter. The letter kills, spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:5-6), and we should live by the Spirit, not by the letter (Romans 2:28-29). For example, the letter of the law says 'do not murder' (Exodus 20:13), but Jesus clarifies that the spirit of that law is not just murder, but even angry thoughts or insults (Matthew 5:21-22). The bar is high. To love God is to obey him. But is that all?

It's not just about obeying; another factor is humility. One aspect of love is sacrifice for another; the Lord demands sacrifice for several reasons in Scripture. Yet the Psalmist recognizes our heart plays a factor here and is ultimately what matters: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (Psalm 51:16-17). God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). And one summary of what God requires is to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). Why all this emphasis on humility? It is the right response to our sinful state in light of God's holiness. Richard Sibbes wrote a book on the topic; with him, we rightly approach God saying "be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:9-14). He who humbles himself will be exalted. 

A third factor is gratitude. You can be obedient and even humble but wallow in misery, yet the Bible calls us repeatedly to be thankful. Psalm 50 is helpful here, as it deals with sacrifices in general. After explaining that the Earth is the Lord's (verses 10-13), he says "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving" (verse 14) and "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me" (verse 23). We see the theme also in Psalm 107:22 and 116:17. Thankfulness is the right response to recognizing that the Lord loves and has blessed us. And related to thankfulness is enjoying life, which we are called to in Ecclesiastes (see especially 9:7-9 and this book). Life itself is a gift from God, and enjoying what is given to us is a way to show love to the one who gave it. Experientially, anyone who is a parent knows this: we give ourselves for our children, knowing that they cannot pay us back or earn it. Yet they can be thankful for and enjoy it. And we feel loved when they do so.

A fourth factor is time. When you love someone, you want to spend time with them. We spend time with God in three ways: Scripture, meditation, and prayer. We are called to store up and abide in His word (Psalm 119:15, 2 Timothy 3:16, Colossians 3:16, John 5:38), meditate on His law and deeds (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 77:12 or 119:15), and pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Romans 12:12). Jesus clearly made the same a priority, frequently withdrawing to pray (Luke 5:15-16, Mark 1:35). Time with God shows love for God.

So how do we love God? Obedience, humility, gratitude, and time. There may be more, but there is certainly not less. And, if you're like me, you constantly fall short in all of these areas. May we obey God, be humble, be thankful, and spend time with Him this day.