Love is powerful. God himself is referred to as love in the Holy Scriptures. Our Heavenly Father loves us, there is no doubt about that. In John 3:14 we read,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life”
John 3:14, NEW TESTAMENT, KJV
This proves that God loved us by sending His only Son to save us. The Son, Jesus Christ, came to the world not only to save us but to teach us about true love. Sometimes this kind of love is referred to as Charity. Christ loved everyone, including the sinners and his enemies. Most importantly, Jesus Christ loved His Father in Heaven. He did not teach love, he showed it to us by the way he lived. Everything he did, no matter how hard and difficult it was, expressed true love for God. Jesus came to Earth not to do His own will, but the will of the Father. He also fulfilled all the prophecies made for Him. In His mission, Jesus ministered and preached the way His Father commanded Him. Even during temptation, He remained faithful and loyal to God by keeping His commandments. Jesus suffered all opposition, testified boldly His doctrine and declared Gods word with boldness and courage. All that Jesus did, he did it out of love for us and His Father in Heaven.
We are children of our Father in Heaven, which means that He loves us, as a parent loves his children. But the love of God is far greater than any earthly love we know. I have come to understand that God has loved me so greatly that I am unable to understand it all. Nevertheless, this is what I understand. God is kind, patient, merciful and loving. He has blessed me so abundantly, and I know he has done that because he loves me. I might not know everything from the gospel or understand His will for me completely, but one thing I am sure of is that he loves me with a perfect love.
“And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.”
1 Nephi 11:17, The Book of Mormon
The Savior taught that if we love our God, we should keep His commandment. Obedience is the way of expressing our love for him. Whenever I keep the commandments, I always feel peace and love from the Holy Spirit. We show our love for God by serving Him. I understood this when I chose to serve a full-time mission for 24 months. There I dedicated myself to the Lord by spreading His gospel and helping His children come unto Him. Also whenever I am fulfilling my calling and doing my ministering assignment, I feel so much gratitude and harmony in my heart. It’s like I know God is happy to know I that love him. Love is always an active verb. We cannot say we love God and do nothing. He expects us to show our love for him through our deeds.
Moroni, in the Book of Mormon, teaches us about the importance of sincere desire and love.
“For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he boffereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.”
Moroni 7:6, The Book of Mormon
Love is required in everything we do in the gospel. There were things that I didn’t like or love to do in the church, a rule I needed to follow, a commandment I needed to obey or a responsibility I needed to fulfill. At first, I didn’t have that real intent, that Moroni talked about. But eventually, as I chose to be obedient and submit my will to the will of the Father, that love began to take place. I have a deep love for the gospel now but this love began from obeying God and keeping His commandments.
There is no one who knows what is best for us than our parents. Both Earthly and Heavenly parents care so much for their children and would want only the best for them. By giving us counsel and instructions, they prove their love and care for us. By trying to follow their counsel and instructions, we prove our love and care for them. It sounds easy and it can be easy if we develop love through our obedience.
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”
Matthew 22:37-38, The New Testament, THE BIBLE KJV
We are not just to love God, but to love Him with all our hearts like we never loved anybody else. We are to love Him with all our might, even when we have no strength or when we are exhausted. We are to love Him with all our minds, and always remember Him and keeping our thoughts to Him. We are to love God with all our strength, by giving our energy and standing dedicated to His work. And finally, we are to love our Heavenly Father with all our souls, by living our lives in His way and sacrificing all things for Him.
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
John 14:15, The New Testament, THE BIBLE KJV
This is the first commandment, but not the last. Loving God is the first step we need to take in becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ. We are nothing without love and nothing really exists without God. My Earthly journey with God has been a wonderful experience. Although I might not get much done in this life, there is something that I am striving to achieve every day while living the gospel. I am trying to strengthen my personal relationship with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. They mean everything to me. I do love them with all my heart, might, mind and strength. My soul is filled with joy and I have felt their true love in my life. If you do not have experience it yet, I hope you do soon. They are always there for us, with opening arms, ready to receive us into their eternal love.
“We love him, because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19, The New Testament, THE BIBLE KJV
In the final day of Judgement, I am sure that God will ask us the same question that Christ asked Peter, His senior apostle, “Do you love me?”. I hope that the life I live would prove to God how much I really love Him. I know we can pray and ask for the pure love of Christ to fill our hearts and souls. Perhaps, perfection cannot be fulfilled in this life, but Charity can. Let us live our lives filled with the love of God.
God and Me 