Love the LORD Your God

What does that even mean? Especially if you are a regular church goer, or seasoned Christ follower. Of course we're suppose to love God! Duh! But have you ever thought about how? What does this really look like?

Whenever I try to understand the how of my relationship and interaction with God, I often try to think of it in terms of a relationship with another person. My wife, my children, my family, or even friends. How do I show my love to these? I think one of the most important things to do here is to get to know the person you are trying to love. How could I ever say that I love my wife, if I never even knew her? You can't love someone without knowing them. And the longer I know my wife, the more I love her. Why? Because I continue to learn more about her, about her amazing personality, about her hopes, and desires. And the more I get to know about her, the more I love her.

How well do you know God? Of course, we're supposed to love Him. But you can't really love someone you don't know. Think about God for a moment:

He is our hope. He is our creator. Without Him we have nothing. Without Him we cease to exist. We owe Him everything, and more. We cannot repay Him for who He is or what He has done. Love the LORD your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. Trust in the LORD with all you heart, lean not on your own understanding. Seek Him first. Love is trusting Him. Love is giving sacrificially, with no regard for self. Love God first and foremost.

“How do I love God?” – learn more about Him. Study His attributes. When you begin to discover the immensity of this amazing being, you will be blown away. When you realize that He gave everything just to have a relationship with you, you can do nothing more than love and worship Him with everything that is within you.

Study God. Meditate on God. Read His Word, over and over. Consider some of His attributes: God is omnipresent. That means that He is everywhere - all the time. There is nowhere God has never been. God doesn't go places, He's already there. God doesn't show up, He is everywhere all the time.

God is omnipotent. God is all-powerful. He created the universe out of nothing, just by speaking. God can do anything. Nothing is impossible. God holds the universe together. Without Him we cease to exists. God is perfect and complete power.

God is omniscient. He knows everything. God never learns anything new. God never forgets anything. His knowledge is complete. He has perfect knowledge. There is nothing that God doesn't already know.

On and on we could go. I challenge you to get a book and begin to study and meditate on the characteristics of God. As you get to know Him, your love for Him will grow. Nothing is as important as your love relationship with God.

We want to know God’s will for our lives. But we don’t even know God! Before you can know God’s will for your life you have to get to know God. As you align your desires with His, His desires will become the desires of your heart, and His will for your life will become apparent. Study God, study God’s Word. Get to know Him in a deep, intimate, personal way. That is how you begin to love God.