To love God, according to the Bible, means giving him your whole heart in trust, loyalty and affection, and letting that love shape how you live. It is not mainly a feeling you manufacture, but a response to who God is and what he has done, expressed in obedience and in a growing delight in his company. This page looks at the core commands behind that love, at the way Jesus and the apostles explained it, and at practical ways to love God in ordinary weeks.
Love Begins With Who God Is and What He Has Done
Scripture never asks people to love an unknown or distant deity. The command to love God comes after God has already revealed himself, chosen a people and rescued them from slavery in Egypt. Love, in this sense, is a response to grace before it is a duty. That is why the Bible repeatedly grounds its commands in what God has done first.
When you read the commands about love, notice the order. God reminds his people of his faithfulness, and then tells them how to answer. Your love for him rests on his prior kindness toward you, not on a fragile promise you must keep in your own strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
4 Hear, Israel: The LORD is our God. The LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
(WEB)
This passage is often called the Shema, the central confession of Israel’s faith. It calls for a love that engages the whole person: heart, soul and strength. The command is total, not partial, and it sits right at the center of what God’s people are meant to confess each day.
Jesus Defines Love by Obedience and Friendship
When Jesus was asked which commandment matters most, he quoted the Shema and placed love for God first. He also tied love to obedience, saying that those who love him will keep his words. In the Gospel of John, obedience is not a rival to love but the way love becomes visible and real.
Jesus also described his disciples as friends rather than mere servants, because they had heard from him what the Father was doing. Love for God, then, includes listening, learning and staying close to the one who speaks. It is a relationship that grows through attention as well as through action.
John 14:15
If you love me, keep my commandments.
(WEB)
Here Jesus makes the link explicit: love shows itself in keeping his commands. The verse keeps love from becoming sentimental, while also making clear that obedience flows from affection rather than fear.
1 John 4:19
We love him, because he first loved us.
(WEB)
John reminds readers that love for God begins with God’s love reaching us first. Our love is a reply, not the starting point, and that takes pressure off anyone who feels their love is weak or inconsistent.
Love Overflows Into How You Treat Others
The apostles insisted that love for God cannot be separated from love for other people. A person who claims to love God but despises a brother or sister is, in John’s words, deceiving themselves. Love for God is tested in the ordinary friction of family, church and work.
This does not mean you must feel warm toward everyone before you are allowed to love God. It means that your devotion to God is meant to reshape your patience, generosity and honesty. Over time, loving God and loving neighbor become two strands of one life.
Matthew 22:37-39
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
(WEB)
Jesus places love for God and love for neighbor side by side, showing they belong together. The second command is not an afterthought but flows out of the first, so that neighbor love becomes one of the clearest signs of God love.
1 John 4:20-21
20 If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 This commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should also love his brother.
(WEB)
John presses the point hard, arguing that the unseen God is loved through the visible people we actually meet. This keeps love for God grounded and practical rather than vague or purely inward.
Where Christians Read This Differently
Christians broadly agree that loving God involves heart, obedience and neighbor love, and that it is a response to grace. Where they sometimes differ is in how they describe the emotional experience of that love. Some emphasize a strong sense of joy and felt closeness, while others stress steady faithfulness even in seasons of dryness.
Many traditions also reflect on how love for God relates to the believer’s assurance and perseverance, and on how much a person’s love can grow in this life. These are questions for careful reflection with your church community, and you may find that your own tradition has helpful language to offer.
Living It Out
Start with small, regular habits that keep God in view. A few minutes of morning prayer, a psalm read slowly, or a short word of thanks before a meal can keep your attention turned toward him. Loving God is often built from many quiet returns to his presence.
Let obedience become concrete. Identify one command from Jesus, such as forgiving someone who wronged you or speaking truthfully at work, and take one real step this week. Practice gratitude by naming three specific ways God has been faithful to you each day, even when the day felt ordinary.
Bring your failures honestly into prayer. Love for God does not require a flawless record, only a willingness to return. When you fall short, confess, receive forgiveness, and go back to the work of loving him with the strength he gives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is loving God a feeling or a choice?
Scripture describes love as both a deep affection and a committed way of living. Feelings may rise and fall, but the Bible calls believers to keep choosing faithfulness even when emotions are weak. Over time, steady obedience often deepens genuine affection.
How can I love God if I struggle to pray?
Many believers have felt the same difficulty. You can begin with short prayers, read Scripture slowly, or simply tell God honestly where you are. Love is built through honest attention, and God is patient with those who are still learning to speak to him.
Does loving God mean I will never doubt?
No, doubt and love can exist together, and the Psalms are full of honest questions addressed to God. Bringing your doubts to him in prayer is itself a way of relating to him. Trust can grow even when questions remain.
