Scripture
Today, our verse comes from John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
Background & Application
I’m sure I’m not the first one to say that this verse is where the rubber meets the road for us as followers of Jesus. If following Him is all about relationship, and a relationship of love is what we desire with Him, then He has graciously given us a litmus test to let us know where we are in our relationship with Him. But do we really want to know where we stand with Him? We trust Him through faith and depend on His grace, but we are prone to hide behind these words, powerful though they be, because they are spiritual and abstract. No one can really tell if my faith is wavering or if I’m trusting with all my might. If I believe and “give it all to the Lord,” then I’m walking in Christ as good as the next guy. Too often, that’s good enough for us. You see, so many of us don’t love Jesus quite as much as we think we do. We’re grateful, thankful, perhaps even in awe over all that He has done for us. We know God loves us and gave His Son for us, but we don’t obey His commandments. and when we don’t obey, we don’t abide in Him. When we don’t abide in Him, we don’t bear much fruit. and when we don’t bear much fruit, our Father is not glorified. So, if you really want to know where you stand in your love relationship with Jesus, just ask Him. But ask Him how obedient have you been, and expect to get an answer.
Charge
As we pray today, let’s all stop kidding ourselves and confess our disobedience. Ask God to show us where we stand so we can begin to get to where He wants us. And thank Him that He loves us so much that He wants us to love Him.
