How can one truly love God?

How Can One Truly Love God?

1. Understanding the Call to Love God

Throughout Scripture, there is a repeated and clear invitation to love the Creator wholeheartedly. Deuteronomy 6:4–5 states, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Jesus cites this command as the greatest commandment (Mark 12:29–30), underscoring its foundational importance. Loving God in this sense involves full devotion, emotional attachment, faithful worship, and a commitment to obey His commands.

The ability to love God does not emerge out of thin air. It arises from recognizing who He is and what He has done—His act of creation (Genesis 1:1), His covenant with His people (Genesis 17:1–7), His ongoing faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22–23), and ultimately, His gift of redemption in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8). This eternal God, credited as the Creator of the universe, is worthy of our deepest reverence and adoration.

2. Love and Obedience: The Scriptural Connection

To love God is inseparably linked with keeping His commandments. Jesus teaches, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). This is not a burdensome charter but a joyful guideline for living in alignment with God’s character. Biblical history confirms that obedience flows from a transformed heart rather than mere external compliance (1 Samuel 16:7). It is an expression of genuine love, demonstrated in daily choices, relationships, and priorities.

Archaeological discoveries such as the Dead Sea Scrolls have helped confirm the trusted transmission of these scriptural mandates, preserving the text of Deuteronomy 6 with remarkable fidelity. It shows that God’s command to love Him wholeheartedly stands as a consistent biblical theme throughout centuries of careful copying and passing down of His word.

3. Heart, Soul, and Strength

Deuteronomy 6:5 describes loving God with three facets of one’s being: “heart,” “soul,” and “strength.”

• Heart – In biblical understanding, the heart is the core of a person, encompassing both intellect and emotion (Proverbs 4:23). Loving God with one’s heart entails nurturing genuine affection for Him, meditating on His attributes, and allowing His word to shape thoughts, attitudes, and motives.

• Soul – The soul refers to the entire self, including the will and entire spiritual dimension of a person (Matthew 22:37). To love God with one’s soul involves aligning desires, ambitions, and passions under His lordship, sincerely setting Him at the center of life.

• Strength – The element of strength underscores the tangible exertion of energy and resources to honor God (Colossians 3:23). Whether through service, worship, or acts of compassion, loving God is demonstrated in how we invest our physical capabilities and material means.

4. The Role of Faith in Loving God

Faith is the conduit that unites believers to the God who is there—even though He is not seen with physical eyes (Hebrews 11:1). This confidence in God’s existence and His personal nature is bolstered by multiple lines of evidence:

• Historical Evidence – Manuscript discoveries (such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and early New Testament papyri) reinforce the reliable preservation of Scripture.

• Philosophical Reasoning – The fine-tuning of the universe suggests a personal, intelligent Designer capable of sustaining the cosmos, pointing toward God as Creator.

• Eyewitness Testimony – The resurrection accounts from the Gospels and letters of the New Testament (1 Corinthians 15:3–8) highlight firsthand encounters with the risen Christ, providing a unique ground for trust in His divine identity.

Loving God flows from faith that He not only exists but also rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Recognizing that He created us for a relationship with Himself stirs an affectionate response to His gracious initiative.

5. The Transformational Power of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit enables and empowers believers to love God genuinely. This divine Helper indwells the believer’s heart (John 14:16–17) and produces fruit such as love and joy (Galatians 5:22). In practical terms, when a believer relies on the Spirit’s prompting, resisting selfish impulses, love for God can flourish.

The Spirit also illuminates Scripture, bringing fresh understanding of God’s character and increasing our capacity to love Him. Through prayerful reliance on the Holy Spirit, each dimension of life can be led by divine guidance, leading to a deeper, more vibrant love relationship with God.

6. Christ’s Resurrection and Love for God

At the heart of biblical teaching is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which authenticates every claim He made (1 Corinthians 15:14–17). Since Jesus rose from the dead, He is Lord over life and death, worthy of our total devotion. Recognizing that this event is historically supported by testimony from early disciples willing to face persecution and martyrdom for the risen Lord provides an unshakable basis for loving God. It confirms that God’s promises are trustworthy and that our love is not in vain.

7. Practical Expressions of Loving God

1. Worship and Gratitude – Corporate worship gatherings (Acts 2:42) and private devotions (Matthew 6:6) cultivate reverence. Singing praises, praying, and expressing thanksgiving recalibrate the heart to treasure God above all else.

2. Obedient Living – Daily obedience marks genuine love. This affects moral choices (Romans 12:1–2), interpersonal relationships (Ephesians 4:25–32), and even mindsets such as humility and servant-heartedness (Philippians 2:3–4).

3. Meditating on Scripture – Spending time in the Word (Psalm 119:105) fosters knowledge of God. Many discover that deeper understanding of His love and grace naturally sparks reciprocal love.

4. Prayerful Communion – By consistently praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17), believers maintain ongoing fellowship with God, share burdens, and petition for God’s will. Such communication kindles a growing affection.

5. Serving and Loving Others – First John 4:20 reveals that one cannot truly love God while despising one’s neighbor. Acts of compassion, generosity, and hospitality form tangible displays of God’s love (James 2:14–17).

6. Guarding the Heart and Mind – Proverbs 4:23 teaches that the heart must be guarded vigilantly. Avoiding influences that pull us away from God, and engaging in wholesome, edifying content, preserves a heart that genuinely loves Him.

8. Love in Light of Eternal Purpose

Loving God also involves grasping that humanity’s chief purpose is to glorify Him (Isaiah 43:7). When life aligns with this divine calling, individuals discover profound fulfillment. Modern examples abound of individuals transformed by this purposeful love, from those rescued from addictions to others motivated to sacrifice personal comfort for mission work, displaying that a life directed toward loving God yields joy and peace that temporal pleasures cannot rival.

9. Conclusion

To truly love God is to engage one’s entire being—heart, soul, and strength—in a trusting, obedient relationship that is grounded in biblical truth, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and fueled by gratitude for Christ’s resurrection. While it involves an act of the will to obey Him, it remains foremost an affair of the heart, convinced by the evidence of His faithful character and saving grace.

Those who seek to love God discover a relationship dynamically nurtured through prayer, Scripture, fellowship with other believers, and a lifestyle shaped by serving His purposes. In every age and setting, the command to love the Lord continues to resonate as our highest, most worthy, and eternally significant pursuit.