Your faith and the way you walk depend on your love for God. Jesus said, that the first and great commandment is, to love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27). Unfortunately, many times Christians are more focused on the second commandment, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. They often have more love for the creations than the Creator. And that’s not all. This second commandment is often misinterpreted and taken out of context and causing spiritual passivity and allowing sin in the church. When do you love God according to the Bible?
Your actions determine if you love someone
Loving someone is not passive but it requires action. By your talk, walk, and deeds, you prove if you really love God and Jesus Christ and whether the Holy Spirit lives inside of you or not.
Jesus said, that if you really love Him, you shall keep His commandments. This means that you shall do what Jesus said and commanded you to do.
Only when you keep His commandments, you prove that you love Him, and you shall walk in His love.
You can say that you believe and love God and that you believe and love Jesus Christ, but that won’t give you access to the Kingdom of God.
Everyone can say they love God, but there are only a few who can also prove it.
Only your deeds, actions, and walk after the Spirit show if you are born of God and if you love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Your works show that you love God and Jesus above all.
You spend time with the one you love
Many people say that they love someone, but their actions prove otherwise. If you love someone, you want to be with that person. You want to spend time with that person and invest in the relationship. You’ll listen to that person because you want to get to know that person. By listening, you will get to know a person, and you will know exactly what the person likes and loves and what the person dislikes and does not love.
You treat the person you love with respect and do what pleases the person. If you really love a person, you won’t do anything that grieves and hurts the person and makes the person sad.
It’s the same with the sons of God (this applies to all born-again believers; males and females).
When you love your Father, you listen to your Father and spend time with your Father in prayer. You shall take His words and keep His words and apply His words to your life. So that you shall walk according to the will of the Father.
You won’t do anything that hurts your Father or grieves your Father and mocks Him and damages His Kingdom. If you love God, you shall give up your own pleasures, lusts, desires, and will for His will. Just like Jesus, Who gave up His life to do the will of His Father.
Jesus loves God with all His heart
Jesus loved His Father with all His heart. Therefore, Jesus spent much time with His Father in prayer and stayed obedient to Him. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit and didn’t rebel at any moment. Jesus stayed obedient to the will of His Father, even unto death. He wasn’t influenced by the devil and by the temptations of the world and the people around Him. Jesus continued to fulfill God’s plan for His life.
Was Jesus a wishy-washy? Did Jesus tolerate and accept every behavior and did He allow sin? No, Jesus spoke and taught with authority. He was straightforward and many times spoke hard words to people.
Jesus was very confronting, especially to the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Oftentimes, Christians have a wrong image of Jesus. They have created an imaginary Jesus, who accepted everything and allowed every behavior, including sin. A Jesus, who was always going around with a big smile on His face, while He was preaching.
But that’s not the reality of who Jesus was and still is. If you want to read more about this, I would like to refer you to the following article: Who is Jesus Christ really?
Jesus was one with the Father, just like we are one in Him, and in the Father:
That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou has sent Me. And the glory which Thou gave Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are One: I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and has loved them, as Thou has loved Me (John 17:21-23)
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous (1 John 5:2-3)
Do you love God with all your heart?
Jesus walked after the will of His Father because He loved and still loves Him above all. Jesus loved the Father with all His heart. And that’s where it all begins, with the love you have in your heart for God.
Do you love God with all your heart, above all? Or do you love yourself and your own life, your flesh, and the world, more than Him?
‘Be the salt of the earth’
