Love for God

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Steven_Merten

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The whole bible is built on the “great commandment” to love God. The second great commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.

God gave the great commandment as an overview to the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 6:1-4). The second, “love our neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:17), “sums up” (Mathew 7:12), the Commandments. The bible tells us that the way we love God and neighbor is by obeying God.

I cannot believe how a concept of such great magnitude goes virtually unnoticed.

Do you believe that the way we love God is by obeying God?

NAB 1JO 5:2

**We can be sure that we love God’s children when we love God and do what he has commanded. The love of God consists in this: that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. **

NAB JOH 14:21

“He who obeys the commandments he has from me is the man who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. I too will love him and reveal myself to him.”

NAB DEU 11:1

“Love the LORD, your God, therefore, and always heed his charge: his statutes, decrees and commandments.”

**NAB 2JO 1:5 **

let us love one another. This love involves our walking according to the commandments, and as you have heard from the beginning, the commandment is the way in which you should walk.

NAB DEU 30:15 The Choice before Israel.

“Here then, I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live…”

Peace in Christ,

Steven Merten

www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
 
I believe obedience is key; in teaching my kindergarten class this week, we started with Adam and Eve and their sin of disobedience. We here original sin so much, that it seems the sin itself goes undefined. So in teaching I always begin with what the sin was and then what is it called.

I feel their are many ways we can show our love for God, but obedience for me is very important. Loving your neighbor, follows.
 
Disobedience is turning our back on God. How can that be called loving Him? Obedience shows our love for Him.
 
Whoever loves Me will keep My word, . . . whoever does not love me will not keep my words John 14:23, 24
 
Human’s having the opportunity to love GOD seems to me to be a very tremendous opportunity. In my book the opportunity to love God is the greatest opportunity set before man. I think that attaining free willed gifts of love for God is possibly an even greater opportunity to man than the opportunity of eternal life. Though both are desired and they go together.

Should we put more attention on getting people to produce the fruit of love for God through obedience to go to heaven over teaching that continuing on in sin leads to eternal damnation? I firmly belive that both teachings are the words of Jesus to be used to teach the flock. Still, it seems that teaching of the opportunity to produce the fruit of love for God, the “pearl of great value”, is a far greater incentive for people to base their conduct on than the fear of damnation.

Could you share some good Catholic links or writings where mankind’s opportunity to love God through obedience is focused on to get people excited about loving and obeying God?

What are your thoughts?

Peace in Christ,
Steven Merten
www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
 
Certainly obeying God is to love God.

Many people who wish to please God get into angry quarrels about what constitutes “obeying” God, which is in itself disobeying God.

I think the two great commandments Jesus gave us, loving God and loving each other, were really one commandment expressed in two sentences. Jesus repeatedly equated loving God and loving each other. A few examples:
Matt 25:40:
“And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
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John 13:34:
“I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”
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Matt 7:12 said:
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”
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And of course Paul’s teaching:
1 John 2:9-11:
“Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
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And how do we recognize love? Paul’s teaching again:
1Cor 13:1-8:
If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
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Of course, the flipside of all this is Luke 6:37 “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.”

Alan
 
Steven Merten:
Should we put more attention on getting people to produce the fruit of love for God through obedience to go to heaven over teaching that continuing on in sin leads to eternal damnation? I firmly belive that both teachings are the words of Jesus to be used to teach the flock. Still, it seems that teaching of the opportunity to produce the fruit of love for God, the “pearl of great value”, is a far greater incentive for people to base their conduct on than the fear of damnation.
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Dear Steven,

I agree that both sides are the teaching of Jesus, but that an emphasis on love rather than sin is more powerful.

I’ve talked to people of many religions including atheists, pagans, protestants, muslims, and hindus. At times I’ve been a believer, a doubter, agnostic, and for a few weeks once atheistic. What I found is that people who don’t even believe in heaven or hell still have certain goals: to be relatively happy and at peace with themselves, and to be able to consider themselves a “good” person.

There seems to be a basic assumption that children, and consequently adults, will not behave unless bribed or threatened. That may be true, but I think that is due to nurture, not nature. Once kids have bought into the system of reward/punishment, it becomes difficult for them to do something good just because it is good without wanting a reward. Earthly reward, I mean. Even Catholic schools stress the reward/punishment behavior modification mindset that gets kids to obey, but potentially robs them of rewards in heaven.
Could you share some good Catholic links or writings where mankind’s opportunity to love God through obedience is focused on to get people excited about loving and obeying God?
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Do you mind book references that are not Catholic? I have one to suggest that is not. You must read it with an open mind because it is written by a fallen-away Catholic who talks about some of the problems with Catholic teaching when he was little, that almost exactly parallel the teachings of my parents and my wife’s parents. Thank God my own children are taught much better in Catholic schools these days.

The book is “The Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennan Manning. Brennan Manning was a huge inspiration to the popular Christian singer Rich Mullins (author of Awesome God), who named his band “The Ragamuffin Band.” Rich took training in Catholicism and was killed in an auto accident the weekend he was to have received his first communion. The book includes a testimony by Rich. You can see it at amazon.com at:
amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576737160/qid=1095083363/sr=8-1/ref=pd_cps_1/104-7435454-0297556?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Alan
 
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AlanFromWichita:
Dear Steven,

I agree that both sides are the teaching of Jesus, but that an emphasis on love rather than sin is more powerful.
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Hello Alan,

Let us clarify that we believe that love and obedience are the same thing. Let us agree that refraining from sin to love God is greater than refraining from sin out of fear of damnation.

Of the four times scripture presents Jesus with the question, “What must I do to share in everlasiting life”, three times Jesus answers to obey the commandments and twice he tells us to love.

Do we agree that Jesus equates love with obeying God? Do we agree that obeying the ten commandments and all God’s laws is how we fulfill the two great commandments?

NAB MAR 10:17

"Good Teacher, what must I do to share in everlasting life?" Jesus answered, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments:
’You shall not kill…"

NAB LUK 10:25

"Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?" Jesus answered him: "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He replied:
"You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind;
and your neighbor as yourself."
Jesus said, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you shall live.”

NAB DEU 6:1

"These then are the commandments, the statutes and decrees which the LORD, your God, has ordered that you be taught to observe in the land into which you are crossing for conquest, so that you and your son and your grandson may fear the LORD, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that you may grow and prosper the more in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers, to give you a land flowing with milk and honey." The great commandment. Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.

NAB MAR 12 The Great Commandment.

**(Jesus quotes from Moses.) **

**“Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, "This is the first:
’Hear O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!
Therefore you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.'
"This is the second,
’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

**

**NAB ROM 13 Love Fulfills the Law.

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and any other commandment there may be are all summed up in this, saying (namely) "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Peace in Christ,
Steven Merten
www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
**
 
Steven Merten:
Let us clarify that we believe that love and obedience are the same thing. Let us agree that refraining from sin to love God is greater than refraining from sin out of fear of damnation.
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Dear Steven Merten,

I like it. I’ve never heard it put like that, but I can buy that.
Of the four times scripture presents Jesus with the question, “What must I do to share in everlasiting life”, three times Jesus answers to obey the commandments and twice he tells us to love.

Do we agree that Jesus equates love with obeying God? Do we agree that obeying the ten commandments and all God’s laws is how we fulfill the two great commandments?
Click to expand...
Yes. 👍

Alan
 
I think love of God means obey God in “obedience of FAITH”.

And because it is FAITH usually it is something we cannot see… something we long for and hope for.

It has to be beyond our “understanding”. because it does not take any faith to believe something we logically understand.

We obey our faith, means : I believe God loves me, that He has died for my sins, so that I become the child of God. Inspite of my wrongdoings, denominations teachings, people opinions, etc… I believe.

In all things, we obey this. Whether we become “odd” in the eyes of others. We step in faith means we obey God who died for me so that I live to the full.

This is how we love God and obey Him. Because the truth is : We love because God has loved us first. Let us not be boastful as to say “I have to love others so that I love God and God will love me more”. God loves me more than anything : He has died for me. He can’t love me more, He has loved me and keep loving me with the Greatest Love. But do I believe this Love ? This is how we love God : to believe that He loves me.

God bless.
 
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francisca:
I think love of God means obey God in “obedience of FAITH”.

And because it is FAITH usually it is something we cannot see… something we long for and hope for.

It has to be beyond our “understanding”. because it does not take any faith to believe something we logically understand.

We obey our faith, means : I believe God loves me, that He has died for my sins, so that I become the child of God. Inspite of my wrongdoings, denominations teachings, people opinions, etc… I believe.

God bless.
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Hello francisca,

Do we agree that your opinion, if you are indeed implying that “faith” is something other than good works and obedience, does not corrilate with what Jesus teaches us about love for God meaning to obey God?

On another thread we have been discussing those Protestants who teach that Jesus teaching to obey the commandments and feed the poor out of love for God if we wish to enter into life through Him, was obsoleted with Jesus death.
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=14936
Now they use their interpetation of St. Paul’s post ressurection writings in which, as they see it, Christ’s teaching of obedience and good works to go to heaven through Him are out and St. Paul’s “faith only” is needed to go to heaven. Is that your belief?

NAB JOH 8:36
**Whoever believes in the Son has life eternal. Whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure the wrath of God.
**NAB JOH 12:44

Jesus proclaimed aloud: “Whoever puts faith in me believes not so much in me as in him who sent me; and whoever looks on me is seeing him who sent me. I have come to the world as its light, to keep anyone who **believes **in me from remaining in the dark. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I am not the one to condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save it. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words already has his judge, namely, the word I have spoken it is that which will condemn him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own; no, the Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to speak. Since I know that his commandment means eternal life, whatever I say is spoken just as he instructed me.”
NAB JOH 14:21

"He who obeys the commandments he has from me is the man who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. I too will love him and reveal myself to him."

NAB MAR 10:17

As he was setting out on a journey a man came running up, knelt down before him and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to share in everlasting life?" Jesus answered, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments:
’You shall not kill;
You shall not commit adultery;
You shall not steal;
You shall not bear false witness;
You shall not defraud;
Honor your father and your mother.’"

**NAB 1JO 5:2
**
We can be sure that we love God’s children when we love God and do what he has commanded. The love of God consists in this: that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome.

Peace in Christ,
Steven Merten
www.ILOVEYOUGOD.com
 
Steven Merten:
Hello francisca,

Do we agree that your opinion, if you are indeed implying that “faith” is something other than good works and obedience, does not corrilate with what Jesus teaches us about love for God meaning to obey God?
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No, instead, faith-- when mature enough-- it has to be evident in our daily life. But saving faith is not-- at all-- about our works of obedience.

In fact none of our works can save us (I will relate this with obedience to God below).

Our works is only because God give us Grace through our faith so that we can work. This is biblical teaching.

We are doing activity all the time aren’t we? We always do this and that. Which one is “good” and which one is “bad” ?

The good ones are when we do it in faith. So if we are the slaves of righteousness then we do good works. But if we are slaves of sin, whatever we do is bad. And what is the definition of sin? Sin = unbelieving God. This is Paul’s teaching. This is obedience to God : if you have faith in God.
On another thread we have been discussing those Protestants who teach that Jesus teaching to obey the commandments and feed the poor out of love for God if we wish to enter into life through Him, was obsoleted with Jesus death.
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=14936
Now they use their interpetation of St. Paul’s post ressurection writings in which, as they see it, Christ’s teaching of obedience and good works to go to heaven through Him are out and St. Paul’s “faith only” is needed to go to heaven. Is that your belief?
Click to expand...
My believe is this : that one can love God and do godly works (in obedience to God) because he know and he believe God’s love for him. If God has favor in him, He will let Himself to be understood, and because of this, one is saved. And when one is saved, then he will do good works in obedience to what he believe.

Believe it or not, all the things we do is out of what we believe. It’s just so simple.

God bless you Steve.
 
Steven Merten:
The whole bible is built on the “great commandment” to love God.
…
I cannot believe how a concept of such great magnitude goes virtually unnoticed. Do you believe that the way we love God is by obeying God?
Click to expand...
I believe the way we love Jesus is to serve others. The Story of a Soul, by St. Therese of Lisieux, was instrumental in the conversion of my heart, as is the following passage.

Matthew 25:34-46

Then the king will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”

Then the righteous will answer him and say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?”

And the king will say to them in reply, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.”

Then they will answer and say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?”

He will answer them, “Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.”

And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Tricia Frances
 
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