Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
John 14:23 (NKJV)
Christianity is a reality. It is a union we have with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is the realization that Christ is God’s only begotten Son. And that His Son, our Savior redeemed us by going to the cross. And washed us clean from sin with His blood. A huge sacrifice, a powerful statement of love and grace.
Within that Trinity, and our belief as Christians, think about this: How do you and I grow in faith? For example, if we are in a crisis or the midst of a trying to make difficult life changing decisions. While we are undergoing conflict, tough times, and we find it hard to carry on. What do we do?
Do we choose obedience? Or do we say, “I am in too much pain and anguish to even care about prayer or obeying. Nothing is working anyhow.”
Or do we say, “Oh my LORD, no matter what, I’m going to be obedient, and know you are with me, and Your love will bring me through this.”
Choosing obedience or ignoring it? Which scenario do you think God will more apt to respond to?
What happens when we choose obedience?
Well for one, God always comes through, and He begins to show His Presence significantly as He starts to work little by little in our life…and we grow in our Christianity overall.
When we obey God, we are submitting to Him and surrendering all. We leave the decisions to Him, knowing He is in control and wants what is best for us.
You cannot go wrong being obedient to God. Why? Because God wants the best outcome for us, and obeying is an act of trust and love.
Could the consequences be painful and yet good at the same time? Yes, they very well could be. Remember when we were young and still growing physically? Sometimes you’d hear a doctor say, “oh, it’s just growth pains.” Well, spiritually we are going through growth pains with each crisis in life.
Our roots in Christ grow in adversity. What do I mean by that? Sometimes it takes pain and heartache, to promote growth in the Spirit. It also elevates us on a higher realm of understanding the full impact of Christianity.
It takes us to a deeper appreciation of how much we need God, and His strength, wisdom, guidance and love to bring us through it. We can’t do it alone. We need Him. And we need Him through all circumstances, both good and bad, happy and sad and all the in-between.
As Christians, we are aware that we should obey the LORD. The Holy Bible is filled with commands for us to follow. Christ speaks in great detail about it, but especially when it comes to love. Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep my Word” (John 14:23) And keeping His Word is obedience to that very same Word!
Love? “If anyone loves Me, he will keep my Word.” That alone should be a great motivator and a huge incentive to follow His Word because of the love we have for Christ.
It is God’s love for us that should compel us to follow Him willingly, without murmuring, complaining, or resentment. It should be a joyful and unconditional act on our part.
God’s love for us is crucial to obeying, in fact it is because of His love that we are able to love. The more we love Him, the easier it becomes to obey readily. The deeper our love for Christ, the more we hear His voice, and hence His commandments.
Obedience is like a domino effect. God’s unparalleled love for us invites us in. And when we open the door to our hearts, we are able to ignite a love that knows no bounds. We are able to pursue life in a way that promotes the progression of our Spirit. We are able to process life in a way that brings peace and contour to our body, mind, heart and soul!
Obedience and love? You better believe I will, and I do!
“Father, may I always be obedient in all I do, may I follow Your voice, and be an example of Your love to those I encounter, today, tomorrow and always, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.
1 John 2:3
By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.
1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,
2 John 1:6
And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the very commandment you have heard from the beginning, that you must walk in love.
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