How to Demonstrate Your Love for God

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.   (John 14:21)

The world has a distorted view of love. They will say things like, “Love is love” or “I love pastrami sandwiches,” and, in the same breath, say, “I love my wife.” Love, contrary to popular belief, is not a feeling. That’s infatuation. Infatuation comes and goes. You will not always feel infatuated with God every moment of every day, as you may not feel infatuated with your husband or wife every moment. But people of faith should not live by their feelings.

Love is an action. Love is demonstrated. When someone loves another, there should be some evidence of their devotion. Those who love Jesus show it by obeying His commandments. You may say that you love God, but are you willing to do what it takes to love Him? Are you willing to forgive that person? Are you willing to give what the Holy Spirit put on your heart? Are you willing to serve? Are you willing to keep your eyes from lust? There are a lot of Christians who do not pass this test of love. They say they love God, but they ignore the commands and instructions in God’s Word.

Obeying God’s Word does not always feel pleasing to our flesh. What God often wants us to do is counterintuitive to what our bodies or emotions want. But for those who obey, Jesus promised to manifest and reveal Himself to them.

Greater manifestation means greater revelation, which means greater demonstrations of miracles. The world will see the power of Christ displayed in the lives of those who obey His Word. They will live from faith to faith and from glory to glory.

Practical Application

When you find yourself in an emotionally heightened moment, maybe full of anger, frustration, confusion, or anxiety, take a moment to pray. Then, ask yourself, “How can I obey God now?” Our obedience shows that we love God, and obedience holds the promise of a greater manifestation of Jesus.

John 14:15; 1 John 2:5

The Greatest Commandment and Success

Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. (Matthew 22:35-38)

The Pharisees often tried to goad Jesus into saying something that would upset the crowd. On this day, they sent a lawyer with a question they believed He could not answer: "Which commandment stands above all others?” If Jesus said, “Such-and-such commandment is more important,” they could paint the picture that He didn’t care about the other commandments. Jesus knew their tricks, so He spoke with revelation that redefined success for all time.

Awards, titles, accolades, or wealth do not measure success. Success isn’t an external thing at all. Success, from God’s viewpoint, is about two simple things: loving God and loving your neighbor.

Loving God isn’t a sentiment; it’s an action. It’s reading, hearing, and obeying His Word and being a tangible demonstration of His love to those around us.

Loving our neighbor as ourselves means going beyond our self-interests and living in a way that looks for and expects opportunities to demonstrate God’s power and love to the world around us.

Jesus explained that these two concepts summed up the entire Old Testament. God’s view of success doesn’t line up with most people’s. Regardless of your title, income, or net worth, success in God’s eyes is all about loving Him and loving others.

Practical Application

How can you be a tangible demonstration of God’s love today? Maybe it’s a smile toward a neighbor, or you can give a coworker some help or a listening ear to someone who needs to talk. When you find someone in need, ask yourself, “How can I love them as Christ has loved me?”

Deuteronomy 6:5; Luke 10:27

Building God’s Church

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:15-18)

When Jesus was in Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples a telling question: “Who do you say that I am?” How they answered that question determined what they truly believed. Was Jesus a good teacher? Was He the Messiah? Or was He just someone who fed them and took care of them?

Peter stepped up and spoke what God had placed on his heart. He said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter’s confession didn’t come from his intellect. Jesus explained that it could only come from supernatural revelation.

Jesus said that this revelation would become the foundation for the Church. Peter wasn’t the rock on which Jesus would build His church; the revelation, the supernatural understanding of Who Jesus is, would build His church.

We must never have the mindset that we already know everything about Scripture or a concept from God’s Word. The Word is alive, and we can always get greater revelation or supernatural understanding. We are called to receive like children, being open, humble, and receptive to what God is saying. 

Jesus promised that the gates of hell cannot stand when we have supernatural understanding. Notice that Jesus didn’t say “the battering rams of hell” or the “swords of hell” or any other type of weaponry would come against the church. Why? Because hell isn’t advancing; it’s trying to defend. The kingdom of God is advancing. The church isn’t passive. With supernatural revelation, we destroy any influence that the kingdom of darkness tries to claim.

Practical Application

Don’t treat a sermon or a Scripture with the mindset, “I’ve heard this before.” Always be on the edge of your seat, expecting God to reveal something powerful and more significant than you’ve known before. Keep a mindset of anticipation.

Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21