You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:5).
We shouldn’t follow God’s ways because we think that will make him love us. That’s not the basis for God’s love for us. We shouldn’t follow God’s ways because we feel that God will forgive us. Our forgiveness is rooted in our faith in the gospel. We should follow God’s ways and live for God because we have a love for God.
Jesus said: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15)”
There are a lot of rules that we can force ourselves to follow, perhaps even if we don’t want to do them.
Susanna Wesley was the mother of 19 kids, but her two most famous, were sons John and Charles. The Wesley brothers, along with George Whitfield founded Methodism. John Wesley was one of the most prolific preachers of the 18th century, preaching an estimated 40,000 sermon in his lifetime. His brother Charles was a great hymn writer, considered by some the best ever. Charles wrote classics such as “Hark! The Herald Angles Sing,” “Christ the Lord is Risen Today,” “And can it be that I should gain,” and “come thou long expected Jesus.”
