Love = Obedience

Hello brothers and sisters in Christ. In this blog I would like to address the importance of obedience in our walk as Christians, well-supported and centered around scripture...

1 John 5:3 "this is love for God: to keep His commands."

The Bible clearly lays out that love for God is to walk in obedience to the way He asks us to live. And we begin to learn more and more of how He desires us to live by getting to know Him more. And what better way to really dive into knowing Him then spending time in His God-breathed scripture. His words to us. That we align our hearts and minds with scripture, and if parts of our lives goes against His word, we ought to wrestle with it.

A study in 2021 found that just about 70 percent of Americans identified as Christians, while 6% believed in a Biblical worldview. A Christianity that has become centered around what we want from our religion, not what God wants. A fleshly religion that says "okay, I like the good parts of Christianity, but the parts I don't like, i'll bend them for myself." It is subscribing to Christianity but living in the continued sinfulness of man. To know how to love God, we need to be asking God.

1 John 4: 8 "God is love"

If God is the embodiment of love, we need to ask the question to God "what does love look like?" But sometimes we love to say God is love, but then make our own definition of love. To keep God's commands is to love Him. To know Him is to know His commands. To know Him is eternal life (John 17:3).

In writing this I acknowledge that at times I fall short of loving God. As Christians we are not marked by our own perfection, but the beautiful perfection of our messiah Jesus Christ. And He has given His believers the Holy Spirit to walk out a life such as His. We are marked by the conviction and desire to love God and others each day. Growth as a Christian comes from humbly acknowledging that our faith must be taken out of our hands, and given into Gods. That we ask Him to reform our minds and hearts in order to test and approve of His will (Romans 12:2). Thy will be done, not mine (LORD's prayer).

Think about a spouse. Maybe you have one, maybe you don't. But imagine that you tell them over and over that you love them, but you continue to live a life of selfishness. Or maybe to put it into deeper perspective, imagine someone telling you they love you, but not showing they do. We can recognize that this is most likely a recipe for failure within an earthly relationship, so how much more is it for a relationship with our God. We see now more than ever people calling themselves Christians, but living a life as if they were not.

We must remind ourselves throughout our day the Spirit we are walking in. That we are praying and asking God for what He desires with our lives. That we visit Him in the secret place like Jesus did with the Father so many times on earth. That we are not just hearers, but doers. Living in a manner that is worthy of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27). For faith without deeds is dead (James 2:26). Not that deeds will ever lead us to salvation, for we are saved by grace, through faith, but the evidence of genuine faith is in our actions. The evidence that you love someone is that you are willing to give up a cost of your own life for them. And to God it should be our utmost! Jesus shared that there is no greater love then to lay down your life for another (John 15:13), and there is no greater love than Christ who did so for us while we were yet sinners!

And to return back to the start, the beauty of it all. The end of 1 John 5:3 says "His commands are not burdensome." They are not a burden in our lives. For His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). When we know God deeply, we are clothed in His love. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:9). The beauty of Christ made true in our lives gives us a zealous desire to obey Him. For He is a good Master. May we not only be a friend of Christ, but a bondservant. To understand the entirety of who God is, and who He calls us to be.

Spend time (or continue faithfully) with God, to learn deeper of what He desires. But do so by knowing Him. Talking with Him. Crying out to HIm. Laying it all at His feet. He is a God who answers as we step out in faith. We must believe in the authority of His Word. His sovereignty. Scripture reveals a life fully for God, and it shows through His followers. May you walk with God for all your days.