HOW TO LOVE YHWH ELOHIM

What do we mean when we speak of love to YHWH* ELOHIM**? What is love to YHWH? How can we demonstrate it? The question is what kind of love does the Creator need? And which kind of love does He teaches us to demonstrate in His Word?

Deut.11:1 Therefore you shall love YHWH your Elohim, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always.

1Jn.5:3 For this is the love of YHWH, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

The Father tells us that our love to Him is demonstrated by following His Word. He, as the Father, loves all: those who believe in Yeshua HaMashiach, and also the sinners who have not repented yet. However, the Father does not love the sin itself, or the evil actions the sinner commits, but rather the confused soul beneath it. The perfect will of YHWH is for all people to live within His blessing and under His protection. The only thing we need to do is to accept His perfect will, to understand it, and to follow it as the word of Elohim urges us to.

Deut.28:9 YHWH will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of YHWH your Elohim and walk in His ways.

Yes, our repentance reconciles us with YHWH, gives us forgiveness, and opens the door to an abundant life, yet it is important to understand that promises cannot come easily to us just because we have accepted Yeshua as our Savior. Our part is now to keep the covenant and we do that by ‘following the commands of YHWH Elohim’, which gives us a guarantee of an abundant life in Him.  

Our Father’s love for us is certainly unconditional, however He is also eager to see us grow. Any father or mother who truly loves their child is capable of changing their child’s diapers daily and, if needed, they are prepared to do it for the rest of the children’s life. However, despite the fact that parents are willing to do all that is needed for their child, that does not mean that we, the children, can remain babies for the rest of our lives. It is the dream of every parent that their child’s future will be filled with prospects and they wait, with eager expectation, the fulfillment of that dream of maturity, wisdom and success for their son or daughter. Does not a father dream of sitting down and engaging in a mature conversation with his son instead of constantly providing the most basic of his needs so that he can grow up? Do our parents not wait for us to grow up and become wholesome and blessed members of society? These questions lead us further: Does not the heavenly Father wish the same for us?

Despite the fact that the love He has for us is the eternal love of a father, does it mean that this unconditional love is the excuse for us to remain in ignorance, uncleanliness and idolatry? Such ways will only lead to curses in our life. As any parent, our Father hopes that we might go far in our journey of life and complete it with success.

The commandments of YHWH give us orientation for each of our actions and for the decisions we make in life. He created this world and He created us as well, so if we are to live here on earth, it follows that the Creator would know best how we should live in His creation! It is not only for our protection, but also the means by which we express our love towards Elohim. To live in YHWH Word is both a blessing and a privilege for His people.