Love the Lord

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Deuteronomy 6:5

All throughout Deuteronomy (Deut. 10:12, 11:1, 8, 13-14, 13:3, 19:9, 30:16, 30:20), and in some of the New Testament Gospels (Mat. 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27), we are reminded that we are to love the Lord our God. When commandments like these are repeated so often, it should be very clear that God wants us to get His message.

God wants us to love Him with our whole being. We should not love him so that we can “get” from Him. Too many make God a “Santa Claus,” and only go to Him with their constant “want” list. There is a time that we can ask of Him, and He will provide. However, most importantly, God wants us to have a relationship with Him. We should love Him for all He has done for us.

A grateful, loving heart should be the motivation for our love for our Creator. This love should be the main reason we do anything for God, and why we obey Him. We should try to please Him because we want to, not because we have to!

Here are some reminders why we should love our great God in Heaven.

Love Him for what He has created. We would have nothing, if God had not created it or allowed us to have it!
Love Him for what He has done for mankind. He has given us all we need to survive. He has had mercy on us and not given us what we deserve. (If you were God, would you put up with all He has put up with?) God’s graciousness has provided and protected all of us, even those that claim they do not believe in Him. By giving us His only son, Jesus, to be payment for our sins which condemn us to Hell, He has given us the best gift of all; a way to Heaven.
Love Him for what He has done for you. We need to love Him for all the things he has protected us from, the answers to our countless petitions, His help when we have not even acknowledged His intervention, His love for us when we were not worthy, the countless answered prayers, His daily provisions, His grace to get us through so many of life’s challenges, and His patience with all of us.
Love Him for the many opportunities He gives us to do right and live for Him. Our God is a second, third, forth … chance God. It takes a lot for God to give up on a person (Romans 1).
Love Him for His mercy to us. We all deserve Hell; yet God has provided a way for us to go to Heaven.
Love Him for His watch care over the earth and us personally. The great God in Heaven watches over this earth every single millisecond. Many think he does not, but if He had removed His hand completely from this world and its people, society and nature would be much more severe than we could imagine. Those that do go to Heaven may one day have revealed to them all the unseen things God did for them while on this earth.
Love Him for the future He has for us, if we make the right choice while on this Earth. An everlasting eternity in Heaven awaits those that have trusted Christ’s finished work on the cross for their salvation. They are saved from an eternal Hell.

It should be easy to love a God thathas done so much for every one of us. Have you told Him today you love Him? Have you shown that love by your actions and your obedience to what He requires of you? Are you fulfilling His desire that you love Him with “all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might?” He IS worthy!