XX. Любовь к Богу

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me” (John 14:21). “He who does not love Me does not keep My words” (John 14:24). “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love” (John 15:10). “I command you this, that you love one another” (John 15:17). “If anyone keeps His word, the love of God has truly been perfected in him” (1 John 2:5). “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). “Whoever says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, is a liar: for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And we have this commandment from Him, that whoever loves God should also love his brother” (1 John 4:20–21). “To those who love God...all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28). “The goal of exhortation is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and unfeigned faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). “I will love you, O Lord, my strength: the Lord is my strength, and my refuge, and my deliverer, my God, my helper, and I trust in Him: my protector, and the horn of my salvation, and my intercessor” (Ps. 17:1-3). “Love the Lord, all you who reverence Him” (Ps. 30:24). “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Ps. 96:10). “The Lord protects all those who love Him, and He will destroy all sinners” (Ps. 145:20). Those who love God as they should do not feel anything that happens between people, either pleasant or annoying (Interpretation of Psalm 41). He who loves God will never be ashamed, for he will never lose Him whom he loves and will never be separated from Him (Commentary on Psalm 41). A person burning with love for God lives on earth as if he had his residence in heaven, and cannot be kept from the virtuous flow by any things. He despises all the pleasures and annoyances of this life, hastening to his fatherland (Conversation 28 on the Book of Genesis). If those who know how to be wise can be rich in poverty and noble in contempt, then much more can God give all this and more to those who love Him. For those who love God, even that which seems harmful is useful; on the contrary, those who do not love Him are harmed by what seems beneficial (Conversation 20 on the Epistle to the Romans). Therefore, love for Christ is weak in us, because we exude all our strength in love for sins (Conversation 4 on the Evangelist Matthew). God, Whom we love, wants us not only in words, but also in deeds to show love for Him (Conversation 20 on the Evangelist John). If we loved Christ with all our hearts, we would regard everything in the world as a shadow, as a vain imagination, as a dream, and would always say: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” (Conversation 27 on the Evangelist John). The power of spiritual love is such that no disaster or illness can overcome a human soul filled with it. Just as in the furnace of Babylon, in the midst of the intense flame, the dew of the blessed youths cooled, so the love of God, when it dwells in the human heart, extinguishes every flame and cools it with ineffable dew (Conversation 1 on the Epistle to the Philippians). Discussion on the love of God What love for God is, everyone can know from its fruits, which are as follows: The first fruit is contempt for the world and everything in the world, for God and the world are two opposite things, and therefore the love of one drives out the other. Whoever loves God does not have worldly love, and whoever has worldly love does not have the love of God. So, God's and worldly love cannot fit in one heart, just like fire and water. God is a zealot; He wants man to love Him with all his heart, and not with half: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart” (Matthew 22:37). The second fruit of God’s love is diligent and frequent meditation on God and His goodness, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” according to the word of Christ (Matthew 6:21). This happens between people too, that someone who loves deeply, never lets him out of his memory. Thus, whoever loves God from the heart always learns to think about God, and it follows that he often converses with Him in prayer. The third fruit of God's love is careful compliance with His holy will. What the will of God wants, the lover of God strives for, and what the will of God does not want, the lover of God turns away. And therefore he tries to submit his will to the will of God. For this, a true lover of God often studies in the word of God, in which the will of God is revealed, in order to find out what the will of God is and what it consists of, and having thus learned, to fulfill it by deed. And from this it follows that when a true lover of God does something against the will of his loved one out of weakness, he always grieves, laments, sighs, and often sheds tears, which the Apostle calls “sorrow for God’s sake, which produces unchangeable repentance leading to salvation” (2 Cor. 7:10). The fourth fruit of God's love is diligent care for the increase of God's glory. For a true lover of God everywhere and in all cases and deeds seeks the glory and honor of his Creator; his title is carefully carried out for the glory and honor of the name of God; and if he is a boss, then he tries in every way to eradicate in his subordinates the vices and iniquities that blaspheme the name of God. Hence arises zeal for the sake of God, which with great sadness and indignation hears the name of its beloved blasphemed, and more desires to be in dishonor, reproach, reproach, embitterment and death than for the honor of God to be diminished. Hence it happens that “neither tribulation, nor distress, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor sword... can separate a true lover of God... from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” as the great Apostle Paul teaches (Rom. 8:35, 39). The fifth fruit of God's love is love for our neighbor, for if we love someone, then we love the one whom we love. God loves man without a doubt, and he who loves God certainly loves his neighbor, for he cannot love God either who does not love his neighbor, as the apostle teaches: “Whoever says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother is a liar” (1 John 4:20). Reasons for the love of God First. Because God is the highest good, from Whom, as from the source, all good for all of us flows. Second. Because God is our Creator, Who brought us from non-existence into existence. Third. Because God created us not like other creatures, but in a special way, saying: “Let us make man in our image [and] likeness” (Gen. 1:26); and so he honored us with his image, so highly, more than other creatures, he exalted us! Fourth. Because God raised us, the fallen, through His Only Begotten Son in such a miraculous way, Who for our sake was incarnate, to live with people, to endure terrible passions, death and burial. Fifth. Because God has appointed Angels as guardians of our souls and bodies. Sixth. Because God patiently bears our sins, does not immediately execute us, but waits for us to repent. Seventh. Because God created everything for us: the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the air, water, the earth with all kinds of fruits, livestock, birds, and so on. Eighth. Because God provides for us, and gives us everything we need and useful, and does all this out of immeasurable love for us. Ninth. Finally, God is our Father. Already one name - “father” - can and should arouse love for God in everyone: how can sons not love and honor their father? If God is our Father, then he loves us, and is our provider, guardian, nourisher, and so on. You might be interested in: