“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” – 1 John 5:3
You can’t separate loving God from obeying His commands. You just can’t. There’s no version of authentic love for God that involves picking and choosing which of His commands you’re going to care about and obey.
Many today want to imagine God’s commandments as a giant buffet from which they can select just the bits that look good to them. They might choose the commands about loving people and reject the commands about His design for sexual expression. Or they might embrace His commands about sexual expression while ignoring commands to sacrificially care for the poor and vulnerable.
It doesn’t work that way! If you love God, then you need to understand what He commands and you need to commit to obey what He commands. You also need to understand that God’s commands aren’t given as a burden but as a blessing. They exist to bless your life and help your flourish in a world governed by God. You need to obey those commandments that are easy for you to obey and those which are really difficult. You need to obey the commandments you love and obey the commandments that really chafe against your preferences.
Real love for God looks like total commitment to love God – as He actually is, not as you imagine He is – with ALL your heart, ALL your soul, ALL your mind, and ALL your strength. Real love for God looks like total commitment to love your neighbor as yourself. Real love for God looks like seriously committing to #FollowJesus