What Does Our Love Look Like?

Verse of the day: 1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.

How often have we said, or heard someone else say, “I love God”? Have any of us ever stopped to think about what that love should look like? It is easy to say, “I love God.” However, what are words if our lives do not reflect and demonstrate what we say about our love for God? In Mark 12:29-30 Jesus said that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Do we? Because if we do not, then we cannot honestly say that we love God. Jesus also said that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31). Here in this chapter we are reminded that if we hate our brother, we are liars when we say we love God, for we cannot say that we love Someone we cannot see, and hate someone that we can see (who was also created in His image). So how can we truly love God? Well, it begins with the fact that God loved us first, and set the example for us in respect to what love looks like. God did not just say He loved us, He proved it by sending His Son to die for us when we did not deserve it (John 3:16; Rom 5:8). He then tells us to love each other and our enemies, just as He has loved us (John 13:34; Matt 5:44). Too often we put the cart before the horse when it comes to loving God. We say that we love Him, but we do not do what is necessary to be prepared to love Him. If we are going to be truly successful in living in such a way that our love for God is obvious to others, it will take more than just saying it. It begins by first acknowledging that in and of ourselves we cannot love God. It is the Holy Spirit working in us, after we have called upon and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior that we will begin the process of loving God. We must then believe and be confident in the fact that when we sin we must first consider how this will affect God and our relationship with Him. Joseph was a wonderful example of that when tempted by Potiphar’s wife. He ultimately ran from her, not just because he did not want to sin against his earthly master, but because he did not want to cause an offense and sin against God (Gen 39:9). Sadly, the last Person we think of when we sin is God. We forget that just as we are emotional beings, we were created after God’s own image who is also an emotional God, and when we sin we grieve Him; the Holy Spirit (Gen 1:27; Eph 4:25-32). We also show our love for God when we subject our will to His will, just as Jesus demonstrated for us in going to the Cross (Luke 9:23; 22:42; Phil 2:5-8). We must be willing to take up our cross and follow Him, denying self and obeying His commands (John 14:15). This process begins in our minds, and this is why it is so important that we renew our minds as new creatures in Christ, and as instructed by the Word of God (2 Cor 5:16-17; Rom 12:1-2). As we renew our thinking to line up with the mind of Christ, the Holy Spirit will provide us with the strength to live obediently, in accordance to His Word. If we fall short in any of these areas, our demonstration of our love for God will fall short. The end result will be that we will say that we love God, but our actions toward God, and others, will make us appear as hypocrites to those watching us. Let us do all that we can do make sure that our lives match up with what we say in respect to our love for our Lord and Savior. Let us truly love Him in our words, deeds, and overall lifestyle by making Him the primary consideration when tempted, submitting our will to His, consistently and prayerfully studying His Word, and relying on the Holy Spirit for strength and guidance in living out the Word. The end result will be a life that is holy and honoring to God, and one that will truly demonstrate that we truly love our God in response to His love for us.

John 15:13 tells us “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” That is what Jesus did for us. Call upon Jesus, and receive eternal life by repenting of and confessing your sins, accepting His free gift of salvation, by faith (Rom 6:23; 10:9; 13).