There are two reasons why men do not love God. For one of them there are great excuses; for the other there is no excuse whatsoever.
I. In the first place, too many find it difficult to love God, because they have not been taught that God is lovable, and worthy of their love. They have been taught dark and hard doctrines, which have made them afraid of God. They have been taught too many are taught still not merely that God will punish the wicked, but that God will punish nine-tenths, or ninety-nine hundredths, of the human race. That He will send to endless torments not merely sinners who have rebelled against what they knew was right, and His command; who have stained themselves with crimes, who wilfully injured their fellow-creatures: but that He will do the same by little children, by innocent young girls; by honourable, respectable, moral men and women; because they are not what is called sensibly converted, or else what is called orthodox. Often strongest notion of all they have been taught that, though God intends to punish them, they must still love Him, or they will be punished as if such a notion, so far from drawing them to God, could do anything but drive them from Him. Our love must be called out by God's love. If we are to love God, it must be because He has first loved us. If we really believed that God who made heaven and earth was even now calling to each and every one of us, and beseeching us, by the sacrifice of His well beloved Son, crucified for us, "My son, give Me thine heart," we could not help giving up our hearts to Him.
II. Provided and there is that second reason why people do not love God, in which I said there was no excuse provided only that we wish to be good, and to obey God. If we do not wish to do what God commands we shall never love God. It must be so. There can be no real love of God which is not based upon the love of virtue and goodness, upon what our Lord calls a hunger and thirst after righteousness. "If ye love Me, keep My commandments" is our Lord's own rule and text.
C. Kingsley, The Water of Life,p. 214.
References: Matthew 22:37. H. N. Grimley, Tremadoc Sermons,p. 212; C. Taylor, Expositor,3rd series, vol. vi., p. 363; S. Macnaughton, Real Religion and Real Life,p. 85; E. Bersier, Sermons2nd series, p. 176. Matthew 22:37-40. H. W. Beecher. Christian World Pulpit,vol. iii., p. 229; see also Plymouth Pulpit,10th series, p. 7. Matthew 22:39. G. Macdonald, Unspoken Sermons,p. 189; C. Kingsley, The Good News of God,p. 41.