Photo by Sean Foster
“If you love me keep my commands.” John 14:15
Someone coined the phrase “Third times a charm.” Another quote comes to mind, “It’s déjà vu all over again!”
Jesus has a message for us, and it is one of those main and plain things. A teaching that is so important that we need to hear it again and again. Loving God is not an option if we want to go to heaven.
This love is not just a head love, but a love lived out. There are commands to keep. Commands that we were told to do in the 52nd and 51st verses.
Jesus reduced the Ten Commandments to two.
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. Mark 12:29-30
Jesus goes on to say in verse 31
31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Then he adds another command to keep.
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34
Love is the common verb in each of these commands. The Bible goes to great lengths to help us understand how to obey these commands. Obedience is our top priority. As Samuel told King Saul,
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry….. 1 Samuel 15:23
Disobedience to God’s commands is rebellion. Our stubbornness to indulge in sinful pleasure instead of obey God’s commands leads to sin and self-worship instead of being faithful to God.
God loves us and doesn’t desire any should perish. He gives us a choice. We perish when we don’t follow His commands. We live and can enjoy a close relationship with Christ when we do. Jesus has boiled it down for us, and it is up to us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to fulfill His commands.
Prayer: Lord, I know you first loved me. So much so that you sent your Son to die on the Cross for me. I love you Lord. Help me to follow your commands to love you with all my heart, mind soul and strength and to love others as myself. Help me to fulfill your commands so that others know me, and see you, by my love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
* There is a website that conducted a search for Bible verses. They compiled a list of the verses in order of the magnitude of hits they got in their search. Some of these verses probably qualify as ‘people’s favorites’, while others might be on the list because they are some of the most important and most teachable words of God.
