God also shows his love in the choice and call of believers. Again, this is thoroughly undeserved. This love is “predestined,” that is, already in the mind of God from the beginning: “In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:4-5). In time, it is made manifest in God’s call, which does not depend on human standards such as intelligence, power, or noble birth, but on God’s choice alone, which often falls on the lowly and those who count for nothing (see 1 Cor 1:26-28).
Love for God on the part of human beings is not emphasized by Paul. Loving God is central to his thinking as a Jew and is clearly in line with his view that Christian life is one of utter dedication to God. But when he speaks of our love for God, the focus is rather on manifesting it in our love for our neighbor. The response that Paul calls for is not so much one of loving God or Christ as one of believing in Christ and loving others.
