Loving Jesus: Why and How?

How are loving Jesus and God’s command to love Him connected?

Long ago, God gave a command to the people of Israel to live in the fear of the Lord, follow His ways, love Him, and worship Him with all their heart and soul. 

“And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul?” – Deuteronomy 10:12

Those of us living in the present day may wonder: Why do we need to love Jesus? And in what way can we love Him? 

The Greatest Commandment: Love the Lord God

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” – John 14:15

Based on the verse above, it is clear that loving Jesus means obeying His commandments. 

The problem is, the Bible consists of 66 books, namely 29 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament. On top of that, there are 613 regulations and laws that God gave to the people of Israel. Surely this is confusing, out of so many books, laws, and regulations, which one is the most important and greatest? What is the essence of all the Law of Moses? 

When an expert in the law intended to trap Jesus with this question, Jesus summarized the substance of the law, along with all of God’s commands and regulations (Matthew 22:40).

… and one of them, an expert in the law, asked Him to test Him: “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” Jesus answered him: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.” – Matthew 22:35-38

Of all those laws, it turns out there are only two greatest commandments. First, to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And second, to love our fellow human beings as ourselves (verse 39).

God’s Beautiful Plan

When you truly love God, namely by obeying His word, you will see that He has prepared a beautiful plan for your life.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for peace and not for disaster, to give you a future full of hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

God has already promised to give you a plan of peace that will not throw your life into chaos. He will guard you from bad things, and will not bring you harm. He will grant you a future full of hope, not a bleak future without certainty. On the condition that you obey His word wholeheartedly.

Ways to Love Jesus

Here are things we can do to love the Lord Jesus:

1. Seek Him with All Your Heart

If you seek Me, you will find Me; if you seek Me with all your heart, I will let you find Me. – Jeremiah 29:13-14a

What do most people in modern times seek? Career, a life partner, a good name, wealth, or fame are some of the many things we want to obtain. It is not impossible that, in order to get all of that, people are willing to risk everything. Comfort, reputation, a good name, family, even their own lives, they may sacrifice. 

When you want to love Jesus, you must seek Him as earnestly as you seek the things above. Set aside time to pray and read the word every day. Get to know Him more deeply through your worship and fellowship with brothers and sisters in the faith. 

2. Have the Same Purpose in Life as Jesus

Jesus’ purpose in coming into the world was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). When you love Jesus, you will have the purpose in life that is the same as His purpose in life. You will strive to save lost souls. You will not hesitate to love, to sacrifice, and also share God’s word that has changed your life with others.

So, in our great affection for you, we were willing not only to share the gospel of God with you, but also our very lives, because you had become so dear to us. – 1 Thessalonians 2:8

3. Study God’s Word

The Jews in that city were more noble than those in Thessalonica, because they received the word with all readiness of heart and examined the Scriptures every day to see whether these things were so. – Acts 17:11

To be able to love Jesus, you must study God’s word more deeply. You no longer regard the Bible as a fairy tale from the past or an old book that is no longer up-to-date. By reading the word, you will know the person of Jesus more deeply, along with all His laws and regulations, His promises, and His blessings for you. 

It needs to be understood that God’s word is not only about God Himself, but also about you. How you face difficult times, make wise choices, do what is right, build a family, and most importantly, not choose the wrong path (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

4. Learn Obedience

Live as obedient children and do not follow the evil desires that ruled you in your former ignorance. – 1 Peter 1:14

A child tells his parents that he loves them, but never listens to what they say. Do his parents feel loved? Would not that child’s disobedience make them sad and hurt? 

Likewise, if you love Jesus, you will obey His word. When your logic speaks louder—for example, “Why should I be the one to apologize, when that person is the one who wronged me?” or “I have always been this way. I cannot change. This is too hard to do”—learn to obey and do what God wants. 

If you have to apologize, forgive the person who wronged you, or leave bad habits behind, do so with obedience. Trust that what God teaches is good for your soul. 

5. Become a Disciple of Jesus

Then He said to the Jews who had believed in Him: “If you remain in My word, you are truly My disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:31-32

To love Jesus, being a Christian alone is not enough. Just coming to church once a week and giving a tithe is also not enough. You must become His disciple. 

You become a disciple of Jesus by loving Him above everything else (Matthew 10:37). This begins  with taking sin seriously that comes from small things. Among them are: lying, being easily angered, acting deceitfully, trying too hard to please people (people pleasing), thinking negatively, harboring evil thoughts, being hypocritical, and many more. Repent sincerely as God desires.

6. Living in Community

By living in community, you can learn and grow together, and be refined through discipleship and teaching. Find a healthy community, whose members fear God, love God, and support one another. In that way, you are not alone (Ephesians 2:19), but continue to be spurred on to become more like Christ.

7. Serving According to Your Talents 

Serve one another according to the gift each of you has received, as good stewards of the grace of God. – 1 Peter 4:10

Lastly, and no less important, join a ministry that matches your talents. Do your part with joy and without expecting anything in return, so that through your ministry God’s name may be glorified.

Now you already understand how to love Jesus. It is not difficult, is it? Come, let us love Him more than anything in this world!

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