Most people claim to have love for God or to love Him. However, what is the nature of this love that the majority of humanity claims to possess? After all, there are different kinds of love. How can this be explained? Let us consider this.

As we have discussed previously, there are various manifestations of affection: paternal, maternal, fraternal, filial, conjugal love, and even animal attachment, to name but a few. Thus, love is often spoken of in the sense of a mere ‘fondness’ or as a synonym for possession and desire. However, there is true love—that which does not seek its own interests. This virtue does not spring from the human heart nor does it originate in the earthly realm; it proceeds directly from the Father of lights.

This otherworldly love is extended to all humanity, but not everyone accepts it. This is because it is often confused with purely human feelings and is seen as a one-way street. In other words, many imagine that, simply because love comes from God, no one needs to do anything to receive it or experience it, when, in truth, it is essential to cultivate, practise and preserve it.

The love that God requires of human beings is manifested, first and foremost, through obedience—by keeping His commandments, which express the essence of His love. From this commitment to the Creator, all other forms of affection—such as brotherly, conjugal and filial love—rightly derive. If God’s love is not at work within a person’s innermost being, all other forms of affection will amount to nothing more than childish and fleeting feelings.

For this reason, the first part of God’s Law concerns our direct relationship with the Creator, corresponding to obedience to the first four commandments of the Decalogue. Next come the remaining six commandments, which govern our duty towards our neighbour. They are ordered, beginning with honouring one’s parents, equating paternal and maternal authority with that of the Creator Himself as regards obedience. That is why, when a young man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, or what the greatest commandment was, the Master referred first to love for God and, subsequently, to one’s obligations towards one’s neighbour.

It follows, therefore, that God does not accept a love based on sentimentality or a vague ‘affection’. He requires the love that He Himself conveys to us through the Scriptures, which is expressed in the faithful observance of His Law, the Decalogue. This is His true love, as Christ Himself affirmed: ‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love’ (John 15:9–10).

OLi Prestes
Missionary