Obedience and Love

Chuckle:  "What I don't get about angels is why, when someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them."  --Sarah, age 7


Quote:  "Selected obedience is not obedience at all, it is merely convenience."  --Unknown


OBEDIENCE AND LOVE:


    "But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him" (1 John 2:5 NLT).


I'll never forget singing the old hymn, "Oh, How I love Jesus," as a child. It expresses my love for my Lord "because he first loved me." I'm reminded, however, that there's a world of difference between singing about how we love Him and showing our love for Him by our actions. We can tell our loved ones how much we love them over and over again, but it is our actions that make those words ring true or false. Actions really do speak louder than words when it comes to expressing our love.


My pastor reminded us that "God gives us His commands as expressions of His love to guide us into His perfect will. When we obey God's commands we demonstrate that we love Him and trust His leadership. The singing of "Oh How I Love Jesus" is most beautiful in God's sight when it arises from the heart of one who is walking in obedience to Him."


Furthermore, it is our obedience to his commands that gives evidence whether or not we actually belong to Christ -- if we have experienced genuine salvation in Him. If we live as Christ wants and do what Christ says, we have expressed our love to Him in ways He will honor and we also give evidence of our personal relationship with Him.


We can express our love to God through our words of praise which are precious to Him, I'm sure; but Jesus teaches us that the ultimately expression of our love for Him is through our actions, not just our words. If we really desire to live today as Jesus modeled for us, we must obey His teachings/commands and follow His example of complete obedience to God and loving service to those around us.

"There are many reasons why we may obey someone, including God. What are yours?   Fear: Obeying because you have to.  Reward: Obeying because you get something out of it.  Love: Obeying because you love Christ and your fellowman."

Love, Jerry & Dotse