March 24, 2022 THE SIMPLE TRUTH
John 14:23-24 “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 abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.’”
When you think about it, what Jesus is saying in these two verses is amazing, but the central point Jesus is making is often missed. We hear so much about how we need to be more dedicated to God, how we need to be ‘closer’ to God, how we should pray more and read God’s word more, be more faithful at attending church, and etc. All of these things have a place, but at the same time can be a diversion from the truth of what is found in these and many other verses. The truth that is essential to understand if we are going to experience life as God designed, is to know that love for God produces certain fruit. The amazing thing that is so simple, yet often overlooked, is that when we truly love God, we will keep His word, and we will do the things that please Him. Love for God takes us out of the ‘I ought to’ mode. A genuine love for God liberates us, sets us free to be who God designed us to be, and frees us from the burden of trying to keep His word. Loving God keeps us off of the spiritual roller coaster. We are not subjects or slaves of God trying to please Him in our own strength; we are sons and daughters of God whom He greatly loves. In our culture, the word ‘love’ is often lightly used and has many meanings. The love Jesus is talking about is a super-natural love that comes from God. (For a clear picture of the love of God, see 1 Corinthians 13.) Romans 5:5 tells us that the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Now, we are no longer limited to or bound by human love; we can now operate in the super-natural love of God! Jesus did not come begrudgingly or out of a sense of duty to do the Father’s will-He gladly came to do the will of His Father-and our Father. The love of God is all encompassing; not only does His love cause us to keep His word because that is what we want to do, it also means that when we are walking in His love, Jesus and the Father comes to us and makes their abode with us!! Wow! Can we even begin to imagine the implications of the love of God being poured into our hearts? Can we grasp the fact that even though we are at the present mortal beings in flesh and bones, we have the Spirit of God living in us, revealing to us the love of God? Can we grasp the fact that God has transformed us if we belong to Him? This love of God is powerful; it enables us respond to all situations as God would respond; it enables us not to be offended when treated wrong; it allows us to see beyond the failures and faults of others; and it means we can be encouragers and ones who lift others up. Most importantly, the love of God works in us in such a way that it becomes our greatest desire to do the things that please Him. Finally, His love covers us when we fall; in His love, He allows us to repent when and if we sin, and His forgiveness and grace is unending-and amazingly, this is how we can respond to others when they stumble. Think about it!
1 John 2:5-6, 4:7-8 “but whoever keeps His word in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him; the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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