Do you love God? Do you really love God? I am amazed at the number of people who say they love God yet seem to have little or no understanding as to what love for God is. It is easy to say “I love God,” but love for God is difficult to measure. Love cannot be measured with a ruler or a yardstick. You cannot pour love into a measuring cup to find out how much you actually have. Love in not a commodity that you can carry in a paper sack. Love for God is an allusive concept!
Does that mean that those who say they love God simply must be taken at their word? Is it possible to determine if a person’s love for God is genuine? Is there an objective standard by which love is gauged? Is it possible to be involved in religious activities and not love God?
Many people deceive themselves when they equate religious activity with love for God. Jesus predicted that there would be those who were outwardly connected to God through religious activity, but who did not truly love Him (Matthew 25:31-40Matthew 25:31-40
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
). Fortunately, Jesus addressed the issue of loving God with His disciples in John 14:15John 14:15
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
. Jesus declared that active obedience to His commandments was proof that a person loved Him. Based upon Jesus’ statement it is possible to evaluate a person’s proclaimed affection for God by examining their willingness to order their lives after His words. Habitual obedience to the commandments of Christ is the acid test of one’s love.
The obvious question then is this: “Which commandments must we obey?” If obedience is the standard, which commands require obedience? The short answer is all of them! God has not issued any superfluous commandments. Everything that God speaks is important and He expects complete obedience. Since obedience indicates love and since God demands complete obedience, where do we begin? It is impossible to examine all that God commands in this short article, but I want to look at one.
In Acts17:30, God commands all men to repent. No matter whom you are or where you live, God universally commands everyone to repent. The idea behind the word “repent” is to change your mind. God expects man to think differently, but think differently about what? God commands us to repent of our sin! Sin is breaking God’s law (I John 3:4John 3:4
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
). If you have ever broken any of God’s laws (this includes The Ten Commandments), you have sinned. In God’s eyes you are a law-breaker (James 2:10James 2:10
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
). You are a sinner (Romans 3:23Romans 3:23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
) and your sin has separated you from God (Isaiah 59:2Isaiah 59:2
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. have hid: or, have made him hide
)! Not only that, but your sin has earned you death (both physical death and spiritual death) (Romans 6:23Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
). To further complicate the matter, sin makes you God’s enemy (Romans 5:10Romans 5:10
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
).
In light of these basic truths, you can see why God commands you to repent (Acts 17:30Acts 17:30
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
). Sin is the very thing that hinders you from loving Him. Sin separates us from God and man is powerless to close the distance (Romans 5:6Romans 5:6
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. in due time: or, according to the time
). God sent His Son, Jesus, to bridge the gap that sin created. Jesus bridged the gap by paying the penalty for our sin when He died on the cross. By repenting of your sin and asking Jesus to forgive and save you, you obey the commandment of God. It is impossible for a person to say they love God if they are unwilling to obey God’s foundational commandment. Do you love God? Do you really love Him? If you really love Him you will keep His commandments!
