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How Loving God Can Help us Love Better in Our Relationships
By Linda A. Annan
Most of us have heard about the first and greatest commandment – I hope – which states: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” (Matthew 22:37). I have arrived at a conclusion – as many of you might already have – that loving God wholeheartedly with all of our soul and mind enables us to easily love others.
Scripture equates obedience to God with love for Him: “This is love for God: to obey His commands,” 1 John 5:3a. And Jesus further elucidates in John 14:23-24a: “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teachings. My Father will love him, and we will come and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teachings.” From this it is apparent that when we say we love God we must strive to please Him by being obedient to Him. How can this be applied to our relationships? I believe that when we readily obey God’s commands it nurtures a spirit of humility in us, an ingredient necessary for healthy relationships.
Also tied into obeying His commandments is enjoying His forgiveness and learning to forgive others. Romans 12:17a and 21 read: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil,” and “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” When we sin against God and ask for forgiveness and repent, He forgives us and continues to love us as if nothing happened – although we may experience consequences depending on the offense. But the truth is, His love is unconditional and such an experience with Him should inspire us to offer the same love to others.
Another conclusion I arrived at was that when we experience and enjoy God’s selflessness and learn to be selfless towards Him with our lives, that practice loosens the knot of selfishness in us. Paul encourages us in Philippians 2:3 – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Remember that if God were selfish towards us, none of our prayers would be answered because everything would be about Him.
Lastly, I believe that part of loving God is trusting Him. 1 Corinthians 13:7 states that love “always trusts”. When we trust God with all of our heart, we are able to trust others again because we rest in the comfort of His faithfulness; we know He will be there to love us, help and mend any wounds if we are ever hurt.
So this is my challenge to you this new year: strive to love God first and I believe you will easily arrive at the second greatest commandment stated in Matthew 22:39: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
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