The First Commandment
Jesus Christ was our perfect example, especially in the way He loved His Father. Learning to love our Heavenly Father is important enough to our salvation that Christ declared it the first and greatest commandment.
Our Savior understood that everything He did in life represented His Father. He was, and still is, perfectly unified with God in the purpose of loving and saving souls.
If it’s true that the Lord looketh on the heart, it will always be well with us when He finds love there (see1 Samuel 16:7). John explained that “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). The relationship between Heavenly Father and His Son exemplifies this unified love described by John. It is the love and unity they hope we will aspire to obtain and share with Them throughout our lives.
Believe That God Loves You
Loving God is easier when we’re confident of His love for us. This is difficult if we’re not in the habit of communicating with Him. Those who are committed to the sacred practice of praying and then watching for His goodness to be manifest in their lives can learn to feel God’s love for themselves.
God’s Love Is Found in the Scriptures
Studying the scriptures is a great way to discover how much God loves His children. The fact that scriptures exist are evidence of that love. By reading the word of God daily, you can experience a continual reminder that He knows and loves His children personally.
The scriptures contain the Savior’s example and include His counsel to follow Him. By honing in on His faith in action we can learn how to more fully express our love for our Heavenly Father and we can avoid missing the loving, reassuring messages He sends to us daily.
Invite Goodness into Your Life
Romans 8:28 gives us one of the many reasons we should try to love God with all our hearts. It explains that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” No doubt each of us would appreciate having more things work together for good in our lives.
Christ’s Relationship with God
If God feels like a stranger, there are many ways to get closer to Him. In 1976, Elder William R. Bradfordgave a talk about following Christ’s patterns. He said: “What about your love for the Father? Christ loved the Father. He prayed to him. He praised him. He represents him in all he does. He serves him and delights to do his work. He obeys perfectly his every instruction. If we would be like Christ, we too must do these things, for hasn’t he said, ‘For that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do’? (3 Nephi 27:21).”
We will all fall short of Christ’s perfect example, but He encouraged us to keep trying with the words “endure unto the end” (Matthew 24:13). When we make a conscious effort to show God that we love Him, we can rest assured that He will consistently bless us in remarkable ways.