JOHN 14:21 – “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.”

THEME OF THE DAY: WHY DO WE?  Today’s theme needs to expand.  Just asking a three-word question without even a hint of an answer serves no purpose.  So, here is the expansion and it is extensive, and hopefully, draws us to really ponder its implications in our lives.

Why do we read our Bibles?  Why do we pray? Why do we go to church? Why do we serve the Lord? Why do we daily fight sin? Why do we refuse to be spiritually lukewarm?  Why do we keep from worldliness?  Why do we encourage other Christians? Why do we share the Gospel with unbelievers?  Why do we visit widows?  Why do we labor to live righteously in an unrighteous world?  Why do we not compromise God’s truth in society?  Why do we keep Christ-centered family relationships?  Why do we pursue personal holiness?  Why do we seek to please the Lord?  Why do we strive to make our homes spiritually healthy places for our families and friends?  Why do we live the Christian life?

Now with all those questions, seventeen of them, we only get to answer all of them with one word.  Difficult?  No, not really, if we just stop and think about what Christianity is based upon.  As we think about the answer, the word “obedience” might come to the forefront of our thinking.  That is not a bad answer, but not the primary answer.  The one-word answer is “love” and obedience is how we show that love.

Everything we do as Christians must be in love.  Not a self-generated love for it does not have the power to live the Christian life.  God never intended it to be so.  The love by which we live the Christian life is God’s love given to us as a result of being justified by faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:1-5).

The only acceptable motive and power to live the Christian life is to be under the control of Christ’s love – “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died” (2 Corinthians 5:14).  And that is learned by today’s scripture; living in obedience to God’s Word that promotes fellowship with the Father and the Son through the Spirit.  It is when we are walking in real and conscious fellowship with God, we know the power of His love to live out all the questions in the second paragraph of today’s devotion.  It is a power that produces a consistent Christian life, not one driven by feelings and circumstances.

So, why do we?  Because of love. His love controlling us so that we might present to the world the reality of the Lord Jesus, and that we enjoy our walk with Him.

PRAYER: Father, make me soar in awe of Your love that leads me to the self-discipline to love You in return.

REFLECTION:  Think often on God’s love for us for in doing so we learn to love Him back with consistency.