By Evang. Joachim P. Erameh
One of the things we are taught in the Scriptures is to love the Lord. Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” The question you need to ask yourself is: Do I really love God? The truth is that some people only love God with their mouths, and not with their hearts. It is not enough to claim to love God; you have to prove it beyond every reasonable doubt.
What are the signs that one truly loves God? Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Here, Jesus is talking about total obedience to the Word of God. Are you obeying God in totality? Do you know that some people prefer to obey their boss, spouse, friend, etc., rather than obey the Word of God? Matthew 10:37 says, “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Abraham obeyed God and became His friend (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8).
The Scripture makes it clear that we cannot love God without also loving our neighbours. Luke 10:27 says, “And he answering said, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.'” In the same vein, 1 John 4:20 says, “If a man says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
Who are our neighbours? They are the people around us and all the people we meet in our everyday lives. If you love your neighbour, why do you still gossip, backbite, despise, mock, etc., him or her? The person who truly loves God will love the things of God and will not withhold anything from His Maker. King David said, “I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord'” (Psalms 122:1). The same King David also said he would not offer anything that cost him nothing to God (2 Samuel 24:22-24). Hence, it is said that King David is a man after God’s heart. Today, I see a lot of so-called Christians who hardly go to church and argue over the payment of tithes and giving of offerings. Worst still, many believers today do not go for evangelism, which is the heartbeat of God, nor support those who are willing to go with their resources.
Beloved, you cannot genuinely love God until you love His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to save us from our sins. Jesus says, “For the Father himself loves you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God” (John 16:27). Love is reciprocal: God first loved us and gave his Son to be propritiation for our sins. 1John 4:19 says, “We love him, because he first loved us.” In case you are living in sin, repent immediately and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior before it’s too late.