Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? – Deuteronomy 10:12, 13, MEV
If we love Him as we profess, we will have no problem doing what He requires of us which isn’t much when you think about it. It isn’t when you consider all He has done for us. His love for us cost His Son His life. In fact, His Son became a curse for us, hanging on the cross so that we could be redeemed from the curse of the Law’s condemnation because as it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Galatians 3:13).
How could we not show our love and gratitude to such a God and a Redeemer? How do we do this? We show Him godly fear or awe, we walk His ways. What are His ways? He shows kindness to everyone, even the unthankful. He makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. He sent His Son to die for everyone, including those who reject His offer of salvation.
We demonstrate our love for God when we do what His Word teaches us. It teaches us to love our enemies. This isn’t easy to do, of course. It’s hard to love people who dislike and mistreat us but we are called to act not as people in the world but as the children of God. So, this means that we treat our enemies no differently from the way we treat our friends.
We are exhorted to love our neighbor even if that neighbor is hard to get along with or may even be our enemy. We have to put aside our natural inclinations and treat that person as we would like to be treated. It will take the work and strength of the Holy Spirit for us to accomplish this. But, with His help, we can do it. And who knows, our godly conduct may very well have a positive impact on that person and transform them.
Show your love for God by doing the things which delight Him and prove that we belong not to the world but to Him. As Jesus said, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35, NKJV).
Notes to Women 