John 14:21


Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them ~ John 14:21

If I truly love someone, I am going to do my best to bring them joy, peace, security, prosperity. I am sure there are many other adjectives and verbs which could be added to this list of how love is shown, such as faithfulness and many other descriptive words. God too, in Jesus Christ, wants us to show our love for Him. He does not want us as little robots, but as unique people who choose to display our love for Him, and as people who choose to obey. I, as I am sure have you, watched children grow, and obedience is one thing every child, and, many, if not every adult struggle with. As parents, we try to teach our children that obedience brings blessings in their personal life and in the society in which they inhabit. We have laws to keep people safe and secure. When we break those laws in the world, we encounter the justice system. When we break God’s laws, we encounter disruption in our relationship with God. Love with God and for God is not a sweetheart, Valentines Day, emotional love. Nor can we fake our love for God. Loving God involves action in keeping His commands, which means we set God above all else in our lives. That is, for me to love God means that He is above my family, my job, my finances, my all. He comes first in everything. His will is my will, His plan is my plan. His second command is to love others as I love myself. Herein is many a problem, for not everyone loves themselves as they ought. If there is no proper love of self, there can be no proper love for others. Simple as that. And as tainted as that. And as lovely as that. When we love as Christ loves, we have it all together, for in Him we see true love of Father, and true love of others. Jesus said these are the two greatest commandments, and so they are. And the blessing of this is when we love God in this way, when we love others this way, we live in the love of God, and He will reveal Himself to us. And oh, how marvelous it is to see, to know, to taste the love of God!  
Devotion by Pastor Julia

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