1 JOHN 2:4-6 – Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
THEME OF THE DAY: THE GREATEST MOTIVATOR FOR OBEYING THE LORD. Why do we obey God? There are multiple reasons but really there is one that stands out among the others. But before we get to the one, let’s list two of the lesser reasons. They are right, good, and do contribute to a life of obedience to the Lord but are not the chief motivator.
First, we obey God because of our relationship with Him as Creator – creature. As one reads the account of creation, it simply makes sense that the creature would be submissively obedient to the Creator – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:26-28).
Another motivator to obey the Lord is out of gratitude and thanksgiving for who God is and what He has done for us. This truth is replete in the Psalms. Here is one example – I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy (Psalm 116:1).
As these reasons are good and motivating, the chief one comes from the intimate dialogue Jesus had with His disciples in the Upper Room and emphasized in today’s scripture – love for Him. Love is the “ID card” of the Christian, not only toward other people, but the Lord, Himself. And the way He says we love Him is not by singing the little tune “I love You, Lord” or making a profession stating the same. Jesus made it clear and simple in the fourteenth chapter of John’s gospel how we express love to Him. It is not by our words but our active obedience to His commands – “If you love me, you will keep my commandments, Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:15, 21).
The Christian life. It is all about loving God more and more. It is a love that is visible by active obedience to His commands in self-denying service toward others; an obedience flowing from our union in the One who so loved us by His obedience that we, in turn, so love Him by our obedience.
PRAYER: “Father, let me taste more and more Your amazing love that prompts obedience in my life.”
QUOTE: “Seek to obey the Lord to display your love to Him and enjoy more His love to you.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim