What Does it Really Mean to Love God?

Discovering the Deeper Love Christ Commands

When we read Scripture, it’s easy to gloss over familiar words like “love” without grasping their deeper meaning. When Jesus commands: “'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…”, what does He mean? Surely this is not the same kind of love we speak of in romance, friendship, or even affection for our favorite things. In everyday speech, “love” often describes emotional attachment or desire, but the love of God is something entirely different. He is calling us into a living relationship — to participate in His divine energies — so that our desires and very being are reshaped to become like Him.

Human Love vs. Divine Love

The love God asks of us is not like affection for a spouse or best friend. Natural affection, though good, is often mixed with pride, sensuality, and self-interest. Love for God, by contrast, must be pure — seeking nothing in return and springing from the grace of God dwelling in the heart. Saint Ignatius warns that thinking of God in a worldly way is to offer an “impure sacrifice.”  God desires instead “only true, spiritual, holy love.” He seeks a union in which our desires and emotions are united with His will, His divine love—where every act of love become a living prayer: “Thy will be done,” not “My will be done.” In this love, we begin to want what God wants, to think as He thinks, and to live as He lives. It is a love that heals, purifies, and draws us into communion with Him.

The Apostle Paul reinforces this by declaring that love is greater than anything else—greater than knowledge, prophecies, even faith itself. He calls love the “bond of perfection” that unites us with God.

Saint Maximus the Confessor describes this love as a “holy state of the soul” that values the knowledge of God above all things. He explains that we cannot truly possess this love while we’re still attached to worldly desires. 

Elder Thaddeus teaches that God’s love is not “according to this world.” Rather, it is a mystical participation in His divine energies—a sacramental union that transforms us from within.

Saint Porphyrios uses the language of passion and desire, urging us to make Christ our deepest longing: “Christ is everything. He is our love. He is the object of our desire.” He exhorts us to be able to say, “My Christ, whatever Your love dictates, it is sufficient for me to live within Your love.” Truly, “the love of God transforms everything; it sanctifies, amends, and changes the nature of everything.”

What Jesus Commands

The love Jesus commands is a call to union with Him, a commitment to live by His teaching. Since He Himself is love, only through Him are we able to truly love. As we follow Him, He draws us into a love that is inseparable from obedience: 

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”

To love Christ means aligning our entire life with His will, not merely seeking to feel good or to get what we want. It is a willingness to let God reshape our hearts and desires so we may become more like Him. This love endures every trial and tribulation He permits. It requires surrender—laying aside self-centered desires in order to be conformed with His will.

Gift of the Holy Spirit

Saint Paul teaches that we can only experience this kind of love through the Holy Spirit—“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” — and love is the first fruit of the Spirit’s work in us. This love is not produced by our own effort; it is a gift God grants as we cooperate with Him, participating in His divine energies.

How We Cultivate This Love

There are no shortcuts. Unlike human affection, divine love cannot be manufactured by effort or discipline; it is a gift of grace, received through repentance and humility. In worldly love, our actions are essential—developing affection through spending quality time together, offering consistent care and support, being honest and vulnerable, communicating openly, and building trust through reliability and shared experiences. Such worldly love grows through small, everyday acts: listening attentively, showing appreciation, bringing gifts, and working through adversity together. Actions that we initiate to build a human relationship.

Saint Ignatius warns us that the love of God cannot be created in this way, through our own efforts. We may commit ourselves to meditation, spiritual reading, or other disciplines. We may think by placing our effort into daily prayer, ascetic practices like fasting, or even regular attendance at worship services we will love God. This approach is an error, he says. Not because these activities are bad, but they assume you can become united with God’s love through your own effort, just like you do in human relationships.

Love of God is not something we can generate by making it a goal. It is something that is given to us by Him. We cannot say, “I must develop my love of God” and expect to produce it by sheer willpower. Saint Ignatius insists that developing a love for God requires prior preparation of the soul, so that God Himself may bestow it. 

Saint Porphyrios teaches that to love God we must first prepare our hearts. We need to cultivate an “Orthodox spirit”: a heart shaped by faith, repentance, and a longing for Christ. Most importantly, this begins with purity of heart and humility. We must recognize God’s almighty power and the reality of the Final Judgment at His Second Coming. Without a heart free of selfish desire and pride, there is no room for His love in us. We must let go of pride, self‑interest, and sensuality. 

Our first step, then, is a life of repentance—turning away from sin so that divine grace can fill us. This must be our goal. Love of God emerges from a purified, humble heart and the gift of His grace, not from self-directed exercises or manufactured feelings. It must be something much greater than words such as “I believe,” or “I need your help,” or even “I love you.”

Fear of God and Growth of Awe

Saint Ignatius says, 

“Love for God is…available only for those who have completed the invisible path to God.” 

He teaches that this path begins with a reverent fear of God. Jesus Himself says, 

“Come you children, and harken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” 

This fear is not terror but a deep awe and reverence that keeps us from becoming indifferent and instructs us in the way of God’s commandments. We must remember that He is our Creator and Judge, who will determine our fate at the Final Judgment when He comes again. Such fear is the acknowledgement of Who He is—a reverence that leads us along the path to a love greater than any earthly love. 

As this reverence matures, the fear rooted in any kind of punishment fades and is replaced by awe that burns in our heart, bringing warmth and light that fills us with joy as we are embraced by His love.

There are two kinds of fear: fear of punishment, and the fear of losing the joy of being in communion with God. As we grow spiritually, the first gives way to the second. Developing our love of God, then, begins with purification—ridding the heart of sinful tendencies so divine grace may fill it.

Fear of God is only the beginning. As our love deepens, awe becomes joy, and reverence blossoms into freedom. The commandments cease to feel like burdens and instead become the natural expression of a heart united with Christ.

Love of God is revealed in our obedience to Him. We must love Him in the way He has commanded us to love. Jesus says: 

”Abide in My love. If you keep my commandments , you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in Him.” 

The Journey of Love: Repentance to Theosis

The way is repentance. As Jesus said in His first public teaching, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand”. Repentance means changing our way of life to be like His, to live by all His commandments. It requires both self-sacrifice and our cooperation with His grace. These sacrifices demonstrate our love for Him. 

At first, our efforts may be motivated by our fear of punishment at the Final Judgment. But as we walk the path of repentance and receive His grace step by step, that fear is transformed into a deeper one—the fear of losing the sweetness of His grace. As Saint Ignatius says: 

“Repentance is the ship. Fear is the helmsman. Love is the divine shore.”

In the end, the love for God is far richer and deeper than the feelings we often call love. It requires preparation, purification, humility, effort, reverent fear, and continual cooperation with God’s grace. It is not a self‑improvement technique or a method of emotional comfort, but a lifelong journey toward becoming fully alive in Christ—participating in His life, His love, and allowing that love to transform every aspect of who we are. This is the path of Theosis — becoming like Him.

References: 

The Refuge: Anchoring the Soul in God, St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Four Hundred Texts on Love, Saint Maximus the Confessor

Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives, Elder Thaddeus

Wounded By Love, Saint Porphyrios

Matthew 22:37,  Col 3:14, John 14:15, Rom 5:5, Gal 5:22, Ps 33:12, John 15:10, Matt. 4:17

What Is Faith Really?

When people today speak of faith, they often mean something quite ordinary. Faith can mean belief — “I have faith that this statement is true.” It can mean trust — “I have faith in you,” confidence that a person won’t let us down. Or it can mean acceptance — “I believe what you are telling me,” taking someone at their word.

All of these meanings are real, but in the Christian life, faith goes far deeper. The Apostle Paul calls faith “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). And St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, one of the great spiritual Fathers of Russia, writes simply: “Faith in Christ is life.”

So what is faith really? Let us unfold it.

More Than Belief: Faith Is Life

Belief accepts truths; faith lives in them. Through faith, the soul already experiences a foretaste of eternal life. It is not only knowing about Christ but living in Christ, receiving His life as our own. Even a mustard seed of faith, if alive, carries within it the power of eternity. As St. John Chrysostom says: 

“Faith gives reality and substance to what is expected; it makes them present to the soul and causes them to be realized in it.”

More Than Trust: Faith Endures

Trust relies on promises, but faith clings to Christ in every storm. St. Ignatius teaches that those who truly believe must “patiently bear cruel temptations” and “accept the pain of sorrows.” Faith is not mere optimism; it is the strength to remain with Christ when trials come. This endurance is itself a miracle of grace — a quiet fire in the soul that outlasts both joy and sorrow.

More Than Saying “I Believe You”: Faith Sees Providence

Words can affirm, but faith interprets reality. St. Ignatius explains that true faith means to ascribe all events to God’s providence. Whether in joy or in grief, success or loss, the faithful heart rests in God’s wise care. Faith looks at the world sacramentally: every circumstance, even painful ones, is part of God’s saving plan.

A Deep Relationship: Love, Obedience, Humility, and Union

At its heart, faith is relational, ethical, and mystical. It is a deep relationship with Christ that transforms the whole person.

• Love: Faith awakens love for God and neighbor. As St. Paul says, “faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6) is the true measure of the Christian.
• Obedience: Faith listens to Christ’s commandments. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
• Surrender of ego: Faith is kenosis, self-emptying. It lets go of pride and control so God can reshape us. St. Ignatius insists that true faith immerses the soul in deep humility.
• Desire for union: Faith longs to be one with Christ, sharing His life now and forever. It is not content with moral improvement but hungers for theosis — participation in God’s own life.

This is why in every Liturgy we pray: “Let us commend ourselves and each other, and all our life unto Christ our God.”

Faith and Zeal

Faith is not static; it burns with zeal — the soul’s eager fire toward God.

• St. John Chrysostom: “Faith produces zeal, and zeal produces works.”
• St. Isaac the Syrian: “Zeal for God is a fire in the heart that burns up everything earthly and brings the mind into the presence of God.”

Yet zeal must be rightly guided: true zeal is humble and compassionate, not arrogant or judgmental. Faith gives birth to zeal, and zeal carries faith into action.

Faith as the Spirit’s Indwelling

Faith is not just mental conviction or emotional warmth. St. Paul says: 

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16).

 To have faith is to become a living temple.

This is not a passing feeling. The Spirit’s presence is known by His energies: peace, illumination, repentance, love, patience, transformation. The Fathers caution us not to seek feelings in prayer, but God Himself. St. Theophan the Recluse writes: 

“Do not seek feelings in prayer. Seek God Himself. The feelings will come in their own time, as He wills.”

Faith, then, is not primarily emotional but ontological: God dwelling in the soul, making it His temple.

The Fruit of Faith: Transformation and Power

Faith that is alive produces fruit. For St. Ignatius and the Fathers, this fruit appears in two ways:

• Hidden miracles: endurance, forgiveness, humility, repentance — the inward resurrection of the soul.
• Manifest miracles: the saints, through faith, healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, and foretold the future. These are not human feats, but God’s power working through those whose hearts are fully surrendered.

Thus, faith is both quiet perseverance and radiant power — the Cross and the Resurrection joined together.

Faith Moves Mountains

Christ says: 

“If you have faith as a mustard seed… nothing will be impossible for you” (Matt. 17:20). 

Faith moves mountains — not by magic, but by aligning our will with God’s. The “mountains” are the obstacles of sin, fear, despair, and even death itself. By persevering in prayer, repentance, and the sacraments, the faithful see these mountains cast into the sea.

The Western Contrast

It is worth noting how faith has been understood differently in the West.

• In much of Western Christianity, faith often became tied to justice, duty, and social welfare — Catholic theology framed works of mercy as “meritorious,” while Protestant traditions often emphasized charity as either a sign of faith or the main expression of Christian life.
• In Orthodoxy, works of mercy are not simply social programs or moral duties but ways of encountering Christ Himself (cf. Matt. 25). They are ascetical, healing the soul from selfishness, and sacramental, extending the Divine Liturgy into daily life.

Thus, while both East and West feed the hungry, Orthodoxy understands faith’s works as part of theosis, not only social ethics.

In the Words of Christ

Jesus Himself gives the most concise summary:

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live; and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25–26)

Faith is not only to accept that Christ exists, but to believe in Him so deeply that His life becomes ours, conquering even death.

Conclusion

So what is faith really?

Faith is more than belief, more than trust, more than words. It is life itself — the soul’s union with Christ. It is the foundation of hope, the foretaste of eternal life, the quiet fire of zeal, the indwelling of the Spirit, the humility of surrender, and the power that moves mountains. Faith endures trials, sees all things in providence, and expresses itself in love and obedience. It transforms the believer and, through the believer, the world.

Faith in Christ is not an idea we hold. It is the life of God at work in us.

What Does Propitiation Mean for an Orthodox Christian

 

Few theological words spark as much debate as propitiation. Found in Scripture and used across Christian traditions, the word carries deep meaning about Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. Yet its interpretation differs significantly between Orthodox Christianity and much of the Protestant world. For Orthodox Christians, understanding propitiation is not about appeasing a wrathful God but about grasping the fullness of Christ’s healing work in our lives.

The Word and Its Biblical Roots

The English word propitiation comes from the Latin propitiare, meaning “to make favorable” or “to appease.” In common English, it suggests turning away anger by offering something pleasing.

In the New Testament, two Greek words are often translated as propitiation:

• ἱλασμός (hilasmos) — usually rendered “atoning sacrifice” or “expiation” (1 John 2:2, 4:10).
• ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion) — used in Romans 3:25 to describe Christ as the “mercy seat,” the place where reconciliation happens.

Already we see a range of meanings: appeasement, cleansing, reconciliation, mercy. The question is: which sense best expresses the Gospel?

The Protestant Understanding

In much of Protestant theology — especially after the Reformation — propitiation has been closely tied to the idea of God’s wrath. The framework looks like this:

• Humanity is guilty before God’s justice.
• God’s holiness demands punishment for sin.
• Christ takes the punishment we deserve, bearing God’s wrath in our place.
• In this way, God’s wrath is “propitiated” — satisfied or turned aside.

This teaching, often called penal substitution, draws on medieval Catholic thought, especially Anselm of Canterbury’s Cur Deus Homo (“Why God Became Man”), which emphasized satisfaction of God’s honor and justice. The Reformers (Luther, Calvin) radicalized this into a courtroom setting: Christ is punished instead of us so that God can declare us righteous.

For many Protestants, then, propitiation is primarily about appeasing God’s anger through Christ’s substitutionary death.

The Orthodox Understanding

The Orthodox Church, drawing on the Fathers and liturgical tradition, approaches the same word differently.

1. God’s nature is love.
   Scripture tells us “God is love” (1 John 4:8). God does not change from wrathful to kind because of the Cross. His love is constant and unchanging.
2. The problem lies in humanity, not in God.
   Our sin has brought corruption, death, and separation from God. Humanity needs cleansing, healing, and restoration.
3. Christ as the healing sacrifice.
   When the New Testament calls Christ our hilasmos, it means He is the One who reconciles and restores us. By His death and resurrection, Christ destroys death, cleanses our sins, and heals our broken nature.
4. Wrath as our experience, not God’s passion.
   The “wrath of God” in Scripture is not a change in God’s attitude but the way those who resist Him experience His love — as fire that burns rather than light that warms.

Thus, for Orthodoxy, propitiation is not appeasement of divine anger but the reconciliation and healing of humanity by Christ’s self-offering of love.

Why the Difference?

The divergence between East and West comes from history:

• The East (Orthodox): Stayed rooted in the therapeutic model of the Fathers — sin as sickness, salvation as healing, Christ as Physician.
• The West (Catholic & Protestant): Gradually moved toward a legal framework — Augustine emphasized guilt, Anselm stressed satisfaction, and the Reformers developed penal substitution.

In short: East = healing. West = payment.

Patristic Witness

The Fathers consistently speak of Christ’s sacrifice as healing and restorative:

• St. Athanasius the Great: “He became what we are, that He might make us what He is.” (On the Incarnation)
• St. Gregory the Theologian: “God did not become man so that He might punish man, but so that He might heal him.”
• St. John Chrysostom: “The death of Christ did not make the Father love us; it was because the Father loved us that He gave His Son for our salvation.”

This language leaves no room for the idea of God as an angry judge who must be appeased. Instead, it reveals the Cross as the supreme act of love and healing.

An Analogy: Payment vs. Healing

• Legal Model (payment): A criminal stands guilty in court. Justice demands punishment. Christ steps in, takes the sentence, and the guilty goes free.
• Therapeutic Model (healing): A patient lies mortally ill. The Physician takes the disease into Himself, cures it, and restores the patient to life.

Both show sacrifice, but the Orthodox model goes beyond acquittal to transformation.

Why the Orthodox View is Fuller

Orthodoxy acknowledges the seriousness of sin and the reality of judgment but refuses to reduce salvation to a mere transaction. The Cross is not a payment to change God’s mind — it is God’s act of love to change us.

Salvation is not only forgiveness but also participation in divine life (theosis). As St. Paul says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).

Conclusion

For an Orthodox Christian, propitiation means that Christ, through His death and resurrection, has become our reconciliation, our cleansing, and our healing. He restores us to communion with the Father, not by appeasing anger, but by defeating death and corruption with His love.

This is why the Orthodox Church continues to pray in the Divine Liturgy:
“You brought us up to heaven and endowed us with Your kingdom which is to come.”

Propitiation is not God being changed. It is humanity being healed.