What does it mean to love God?
"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life" (John 3:16).
"Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind' (Matthew 22:37).
"I love you, LORD. You give me strength" (Psalm 18:1).
To love God means, first of all, that you believe in Him, because "The Father has sent his Son (Jesus) to be the Savior of the world" (1 John 4:14).Romans 10:9 says, "Say with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord.' Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved."
If you believe in Jesus, you will then want to show your love to Him by obeying Him. Jesus said, "Anyone who has my commands and obeys them loves me." (John 14:21a). That means that when you know what God wants you to do, you will choose to obey Him. His Word, the Bible, tells you what He wants you to do. Even when you fail, God knows your heart and will forgive you when you admit that you did wrong.
God is delighted when you ask for His help to obey. He will also bless you by revealing Himself to you more when you read His Word. You'll "get it," and that's very exciting.
One good example of showing God you love Him is to obey your parents, like He tells all children to do in the Bible: "Children, obey your parents as believers in the Lord. Obey them because it’s the right thing to do" (Ephesians 6:1). So, when you obey your parents, you obey God at the same time. That shows that you love Him from your heart.
How you behave also shows others that you love God. "A child is known by his actions. He is known by whether his conduct is pure and right" (Proverbs 20:11).
