Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. John 14:21
God is the one who takes the initiative to pursue a love relationship with you. However, this love relationship has to be two-sided. It can’t be one-sided. God wants you to know and worship Him. He does want us to truly love Him, just as we truly want to be loved.
According to the verse above, Who is the one who loves Jesus? What does he have and do? How does the Father respond to the one who loves Jesus? What are the two things Jesus will do for the one who loves Him? Are you the one who has His commands and obeys them? In John 14:15 Jesus says, “if you love me, you will obey what I command.” When we obey Jesus, we are showing that we love him and trust him. The Father loves those who love His son, Jesus. Jesus also said that he would reveal himself to those who love him. Obedience is the outside expression of our love for God.
Our reward for obeying Jesus is he will reveal Himself to us. Jesus set the example for us in His life. In John 14:31, Jesus says, The world must learn that I love the Father, and that I do exactly what my Father has command of the Father. Jesus obeyed God, therefore, we too can obey God. How can we demonstrate our love for God?
Our love relationship with God demonstrates our love for God through our obedience. Do you have a hard time obeying God’s word? If you have an obedience problem, you have a love problem. You will need to put your focus on God’s love. But how do we do that?
God is love by nature. He can’t function contrary to His own nature. He will give you His perfect love, not ever second best. He will bring discipline, judgment, and wrath to those who continue to sin and rebel. His disciplines are based on His love. Read John 3:16 and 1 John 3:16, These two verses describes His love for us. Trusting in God’s love nature is crucial.
Our relationship with God reveals what you believe about Him? What do you believe about God? It is hard for us to believe on way and practice another. God is all-knowing. He has all knowledge of the past, present, and future. Therefore, His direction for us is always right. We don’t have to question whether His way is best or right. We know this by His love for us. God is omnipotent, which means all-powerful. He was able to create the world out of nothing. He can accomplish anything He purposes to do. If He asks you to do something, He will enable you to do it. Don’t hold back. When we are each in the middle of God’s activity, He will start rearranging our thinking. Don’t’ second guess what God’s is doing, just join Him and trust Him. It is here that he will reveal himself to you and to me. Isn’t this exciting. Who says that Christian life is boring.
God’s commands are for our own good. It expresses his nature of love. Read Deuteronomy 32: 46-47. How important is God’s word to you? The foundation of this verse is a love relationship. When we experience God, we are convinced of His love. When we are convinced of His love, we can then believe and trust Him. When we trust Him, we will then obey Him. When we love Him, we will have no problem obeying Him. God loves us so much that He has given us guidelines for living. We don’t want to miss this love relationship! He wants us to have a an abundant life. Obeying God, and following His commands is not to restrict or limit us but to give us the best life there is to have.
Are you ready to Love God? To obey His commands? To trust and believe in Him? To know Him?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your love. I pray that we will have a love for you that will show in our obedience to you. I pray that we will trust you and believe in you.
In Jesus Name
Amen
