1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
1 I love you, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
“Ultimately the man who comes to obey God will love Him first...Let us therefore learn that the love of God is the beginning of religion, for God will not have the forced obedience of men, but wishes their service to be free and spontaneous...Lastly we learn that God does not linger over the outward sign of achievement but chiefly searches the inner disposition (motive), that from a good root good fruit may grow.” John Calvin
“Reader, put these few following questions to thine own heart, as in the presence of God; if thou canst answer them affirmatively, doubt not thy real interest in him, and in his great salvation: Is the Lord Jesus Christ precious to me, as he is to all that believe? Once he was to me without form or comeliness, and I saw no beauty in him; is he now to me the chiefest of ten thousand, yea, altogether lovely? Do I behold an infinite amiableness and glory in his person, a transcendent excellency in his righteousness, an inexhausted fullness in his grace, and a heaven of happiness in his love? Do I esteem him above every name, love him above every creature and thing, and value an interest in him before ten thousand worlds? Is the language of my soul, ‘None but Christ! None but Christ! Whom Have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee?’” K. H. Von Bogatzky
“How can we but love Him when we know that He numbers the very hairs of our head, marks our path, and orders our ways? Specially is the great truth brought near to our heart, when we recollect how attentive He is, not merely to the temporal interests of His creatures, but to their spiritual concerns. Though leagues of distance lie between the finite creature and the infinite Creator, yet there are links uniting both. When a tear is wept by thee, think not that God doth not behold; for, ‘Like a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.’ Thy sigh is able to move the heart of Jehovah; thy whisper can incline His ear unto thee; thy prayer can stay His hand; thy faith can move His arm. Think not that God sits on high taking no account of thee. Remember that however poor and needy thou art, yet the Lord thinketh upon thee. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards Him.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“We are a vapor and we become what we come to love. Love Him most and we who are a vapor become a fragrance of praise that will last for all of forever.” Ann Voskamp
“Receiving the Father nature of God is essential if we are to love Him and be assured of His love, trust Him, be secure in Him, pray to Him, yield to Him, live holy before Him, receive His guidance, serve Him, be like Him, and much more. Spend time with your Father in His word, His love letter to you. Receive His Father love for you.” Sylvia Gunter
“Love Him totally who gave Himself totally for your love.” Claire of Assisi
“Every time you recall the depth of God's love for you, He is inviting you to love Him back more deeply and more fully. Every time you remember His matchless love, it brings healing and wholeness, challenging you to respond with praise and surrender. Every time you recall His immense sacrifice, it brings hope and trust that He will do it again. Remembering Him is for His glory and for our good.” Michael Youssef
“You can’t love God with your hands and feet and heart until you have also come to love him with your head.” Scott Sauls
“The end of learning is to know God, and out of that knowledge to love Him and imitate Him.” John Milton
“To love God, to serve Him because we love Him, is...our highest happiness...Love makes all labor light. We serve with enthusiasm where we love with sincerity.” Hannah More
“I love Him because He first loved me. His goodness and mercy and compassion to me are new every day. And my assurance is lodged in these aspects of His character. My trust is in His love for me as His own. My serenity has as its basis an implicit, unshakable reliance on His ability to do the right thing, the best thing in any given situation. This to me is the supreme portrait of my Shepherd. Continually there flows out to me His goodness and His mercy, which even though I do not deserve them, come unremittingly from their source of supply – His own great heart of love.” Phillip Keller
“When the love of Jesus captivates us, and when we begin to see him as our True Precious, our hearts will naturally, and quite effortlessly, love him first and to love him most. This will lead us to hold everything else loosely, no longer desperately tightening our grip. And yet, when we loosen our grip on these things, our loving Jesus sometimes has a way of giving them all back to us—and in an even greater, more healthy measure than before.” Scott Sauls
“Humble yourself under God’s mighty hand that He may lift you up. Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you and He will never, never let the righteous fall. The way up is always down. Be willing to honestly search your own heart. Be willing to deny self and follow Him – for your good, for His glory. Be willing to walk in a manner worthy of the precious Gospel of Christ again, always through His power, for His glory, for our good. We simply can’t muster up enough good intentions in our flesh it will fail us every time – it is always through the indwelling power of the Spirit in the saint that we are enabled to walk as Jesus walked. The flesh, the world screams loud, vies for all of our attention and leads to our downfall. We are not God – we are the created not the Creator. Listen for His still small voice. He knows what is best for our lives – always. Indeed His plan for each of His children is good pleasing and perfect albeit extremely hard. Each child of the King should hear Jesus asking the same questions to them as He did when He reinstated Peter – do we truly love Him more than all and are we willing to follow.” BHY
“The children of God are ruled in their inmost powers by love - the love of Christ constraineth them; they rejoice that divine love is set upon them, they feel it shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto them, and then by force of gratitude they love the Saviour with a pure heart, fervently. My dear reader, do you love Him?” Charles H. Spurgeon