READ: MATTHEW 22:36-40; JOHN 14:15-27; 2 JOHN 1:5-6

If you often go to church or read the Bible, you’ve probably been told over and over again, “Love the Lord your God.” But what does that mean? How do we do that? Should we just try to create positive emotions toward God and maintain that happy feeling for Him all the time?

No, of course not! While feelings are an important part of love—and we will have times when we feel lots of love for God—love goes much deeper than feelings. Actions and choices are what ultimately define and sustain love. And God chose to love us first. He pursued His people in many ways in the Old Testament, and then Jesus came. As God the Son, Jesus obeyed and loved God the Father perfectly. Jesus died on the cross to take our sins upon Himself and to give us His righteousness before the Father, and then He rose from the dead to defeat Satan, sin, and death—making the way for us to be with Him forever. That’s a lot of love!

For us, loving God means responding to His love by making choices that are in line with His good ways. Because God loves us, He gave us commands that reflect His goodness. And because of what He does for us, and in us, we can love Him by obeying those good commands. The problem is, none of us can do that perfectly. We all miss the mark. We fail to love God as He deserves to be loved. But the good news is, Jesus loved and obeyed the Father for us. And if we’ve put our trust in Jesus, He has given us the Holy Spirit, empowering us to love God too.

That doesn’t mean loving God will always be easy. And, just like loving anyone else in our lives, loving God doesn’t mean you can’t share feelings of anger or fear with Him when things get difficult. Quite the opposite! There are many examples in the Psalms of lament—of people calling out to God in anger and frustration—but that doesn’t mean they failed to love Him in those moments. In fact, by drawing near to God in their times of pain and anger, they were demonstrating their love and trust in Him. Many of the psalms even end with a reminder of how good God is.

Whatever season of life I’m in—whether I’m lamenting like the psalmists or overflowing with joy and praise in the face of God’s goodness—when He reminds me of what He has done for me through Jesus, it leads me to love Him more and more. • Taylor Eising

• God loves us so much that, even when we fail to love Him, He doesn’t stop loving us. In Jesus, He offers us forgiveness. Consider taking a moment to praise God for His amazing love!

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 (NIV)