“I love you” – In any relationship, these three words are commonly thrown around but merely expressing them does not convince any of the partners. Often, one or both partners seeks some ongoing proof, some sign that the other person really loves them. They are likely to set an evidence of love bar to be met and they will constantly be on the lookout to see how it is being met. The bar may be as low as little acts of kindness and attention or as high as requiring significant sacrificial acts or material benefits. Each relationship is different, but understanding the desire for this evidence of love in each partner goes a long way in keeping the relationship smooth.
Each Follower of Jesus (Christian) also has a unique loving relationship with Jesus. We already have the highest evidence of love bar that is humanly possible from Him: a cruel death on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins, the spilling of innocent blood that gives us hope of eternal salvation. In order not to lose sight of the monumental significance of this act of universal redemption in my own life, I have found that it is often helpful to personalize this as if Jesus died for only me. When a good friend deliberately takes a bullet for you, how do you repay that love? More so, when that death opens up the possibility of a glorious future?
Before He died, Jesus clearly set out His own evidence of love bar for all His followers on many occasions. It is a simple word – OBEDIENCE. ‘If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever- the Spirit of Truth’ – John 14:15-17. As if to emphasize the importance of this simple evidence he was asking for, Jesus repeats it a few seconds later in verse 23 – Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them
It is a great credit to the followers of Jesus who heard this directly from Him, that they were willing to prove their love to Him by their obedience without even understanding that He was going to die that horrible death for them. All they held onto as He made His request of obedience was the futuristic promise of The Advocate and Helper as well as the guarantee that the Father would love them in return and both Father and Son would make a home in them.
What then is our excuse? We have His death and the promises above as His evidence of love bar. He simply asks for us to obey Him, and because He understands that His commandments can be difficult to comply with in our own strength, He promises us The Helper. In addition, because God Himself is love, He is charitable enough to appreciate our desire to obey him and our limited human efforts are still credited to us. However, Jesus is not telling us to climb Mount Everest without assistance, He makes His Father’s supernatural Spirit available to help us to obey Him.
In the eyes of our Savior and Master, Love = Obedience. We can sing His praises from dawn to night and memorize the Bible from Genesis to Revelation; if we don’t obey Him, we have not proven our love. Obedience is better than sacrifice. This temporary world we live in now is an increasingly difficult place for the Follower of Christ. We often wonder if the world is turning upside down as tales of pure evil and acts of wickedness become the norm, numbing our senses. The laws of God provide us with guidelines for navigating a wicked world. May Jehovah Himself be our Teacher and may He always make His ways clear to us. Amen.
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Hilltop Thoughts, Valley Strengths 