We are commanded by God to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. How well

are you doing this? Most Christians would readily admit they don’t love God perfectly, or as

much as they should. Our growth in this area seems painstakingly slow.

What can we do to become better at loving God? First, we must consider what it means to love

God. The Bible says that before we were saved, we were enemies of God -- that was the

essence of our relationship with Him. Although God created us and has every right to impose

obligations on His creation, we pursued a path centered on ourselves. Since we refused to

acknowledge God, or give Him thanks, we lived as if we were our own gods.

But things changed when God changed the disposition of our hearts through the new birth. We

now find ourselves wanting God in our lives. We realize life takes on meaning and significance

when we live for the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20). Not

only has He paid the punishment our sins deserve, but He has also granted us the

righteousness of God.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed; behold the

new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

We now have peace with God - our estrangement from Him forever removed, our sin forgiven,

and our eternity with Him secure. Our love relationship with Him, however, is tested throughout

life so that we will become more like our Savior, our certain hope.

At times, we need Jesus to “wash our feet” as we slip into sin. At other times, we seek the

Lord’s help as we deal with the Satan’s attacks or get caught up in the worldliness around us.

And sometimes we seek to follow the prodding of the Spirit to advance God’s Kingdom while

depending on the strength He provides.

Prayer is God’s way of giving us what we need when we need it. As we regularly seek God in

prayer, we naturally humble ourselves before Him. In boldness, we ask Him for the things on

our hearts and on His heart. We wait patiently, but expectantly, for Him to answer—knowing that

He is a good Heavenly Father, who only wants good things for His children.



If you want the power in your life to do all that God desires of you, make it a habit to meet with

God and express your love and gratitude to Him for all He has done for you. Ask Him to use you

for His good purposes and watch with amazement what He will do!

By Jim Connell

Jim is the founder and retired director of Lexington Rescue Mission and author of

Jesusislordblog.com, faithanswerspress.net, and Creator of FAQs of Faith (mobile app).