I am trusting in You this day, Father. Many things are clamoring for me to fret over them, but I cling to You. Fretting accomplishes nothing. In You I find rest.
John 14:15-21 (<<click here to read the passage)
More often than not, love and obedience go hand in hand. If you love someone, you’ll do what they say. You will not go against their desires; you will be eager to fulfill them. There are many instances as well when we obey out of fear but if you truly love someone you will do whatever it takes to do what they want to be done. That’s how we show our love.
In parent/child relationships, children will obey their parents on many different fronts. It’s not always just to stay out of trouble. Many times, we obey because we love our parents, so much so, that we don’t want to hurt them by disobeying them. We love our parents by obedience. The same goes for our relationships with significant others in our lives – boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives.
So, when Jesus says in verse 15,
“If you love me, obey my commandments.” NLT
…and then again in the first part of verse 21,
“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.” NLT
…what should we do? What should we do if we truly love Him, because we have to understand without the slightest doubt that He first loved us? If we love Him, we need to obey His commandments – no excuses, no beating around the bush, no rationalizations. We. Need. To. Obey.
We know what we should do…but it is a challenge for 99.9% of us! It doesn’t make sense, but we struggle so. He died for us. He paid the price for our sin with his own life’s blood! And again and again, we falter…we fail…we disobey, over and over and over again…
Some never think twice about it…others weep over it all… How could I do that to Him? How could I hurt Him so? He loves me more than I can even begin to comprehend, and I disobey his commandments – love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself…the absolute core of all the commandments – and I choose to disobey time and time and time again.
Lord Jesus, forgive us! We know You will. Maybe that is part of our problem is that we know You will, but, O Savior, help us we pray! Give us the burning desire within our hearts to not yield to selfish desires. Help us to seek what pleases Your heart not our own. We are weak…but You are strong! May we fall into Your arms of grace and mercy! May we seek with all that we are to love You by obeying Your commandments! Amen! So be it!
Sept 13th, 2021, Mon, 12:34 pm
