“If you love me, keep my commands.” John 14:15
“Whoever has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me.” John 14:21a
“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves Me will obey My teaching.” John 14:23
I love clarity. Those instances when something is asked of you and it is asked in a way that is clear, concise, and void of muddled intention. As a result, you know what to do, how to do it, and just exactly what is expected of you. Yet we live in a world, many times, that leaves us wondering just exactly what we have just been asked to do. You see, without clear instructions, what do you actually do? Without clarity, where do you actually start, and where will you end up as a result of following your own ideal of said instructions? And as an answer to the above dilemmas concerning lack of clarity, we see Jesus Christ issue not once, but three times, one of the clearest and easiest commandments in His life instructions to us, the Bible.
To quote Shakespeare, “the course of true love never did run smooth.” Yes, old Bill Shakespeare was spot on, love is finicky, temperamental, and at times rude, curt, and even abrasive. Of course when I make these comments, I’m speaking of human love, which of course is the love we all know and relate to the best. If you have ever loved, you have been hurt. I mean, how else can flawed sinners love but with flawed love? And as a result, we find ourselves, at times, wondering just what perfect love even looks like. We watch movies about perfect love, read books about perfect love, and even dream about loving perfectly and being loved perfectly by another. (Hello, why do think Hallmark movies are so popular?) Yet, to no avail, perfect love is not to be found on this earth from another human. Yet not to be in err of sounding too fatalistic concerning the intended work of cupid, I want to instead focus on the one perfect example of love that has existed. A display of love in perfection that is summed up nicely in arguably the most famous verse in all of God’s Word.
“For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
And to further emphasize the amazing and perfect love found within the verse above, I would like to add this verse:
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
Let's be honest, it’s too easy to love a loveable person, right?. So to probe this point, think back to those moments in your life when you’ve been called to love the seemingly unlovable. Think back to when you were placed in a situation when the human in front of you was producing actions, words, or deeds that made it seemingly impossible to show any form of love for them. Oh, how to truly love a sinner? Yet we are told by God here in the book of Romans that the glorious act of the Father sending His only Son to die on a cross was done as He looked into a world that was full of very unlovable, arrogant, prideful, sinning creatures. Yet despite what He saw from the very hearts He created, He instead produced the single biggest act of love that has ever existed.
But if you know something about love, it is somewhat of a two way street. Just as the effective communication model contains both sending and receiving of information, so love mirrors that model. To be truly loved is to truly love another. So we read that God loved us by sending His only Son here so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but enjoy eternal life with Him in heaven, but just exactly what does Jesus ask of us in order to return love in His direction? Well, Jesus is as clear as Austrian crystal in John chapter 14, and not just once, but three times over a short 8 verses. If you love me…you will be obedient to Me and My words.
I see this command from Jesus as two-fold. First, do you truly know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, have the anointing of His Holy Spirit as result, and thereby hold a love for Him that drives your life? You see, without this first step, the love required to fuel the keeping of His commandments will falter and fail. And second, do you actually know what He is commanding you to do? You see, without ever cracking open the Bible and abiding in His Words, how can you truly know the depth of the very commandments that Jesus is asking you to keep in your great love for Him?
The other day Margie and I were sitting in the Guadalajara traffic (which is more normal than I care to admit) and we were talking about just this. Verses that require action. Verses that won't allow us to just say them, but call us to do them. Verses that will result in us physically showing the love of Christ to those around us and ultimately to the world around us. Please allow me to share some of the action verses that resulted from that traffic-infused conversation:
“Nothing should be done out of pride or selfishness, but always be willing to place others above yourself.” Philippians 2:3
Show your love of Jesus by always placing others first. That is, always placing others above your own personal needs, wants, and desires. And folks, you can’t promote others without demoting yourself first.
“Let us not grow tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9
Show your love of Jesus by never, ever, ever, stopping the doing of good in your life. That means tirelessly doing good for your spouse, for your kids, for your neighbors, for strangers, for your siblings, for your enemies, for your country, for your employer, and for the kingdom of God. And when you get tired of doing good? Do more good.
“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9
Show your love of Jesus by never reproducing or emulating the behavior that hurt you. Instead of acting upon your sin nature that calls for harsh retaliation, break the cycle and repay it with a blessing. To this action Jesus call us so that He may bless our behavior that models His.
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12
And finally one verse to cap them all off. Show your love for Jesus as you strive to love all others the way that Jesus loves you. And as we saw in John 3:16, Jesus has a personal love for you that transcends what the world can ever attempt to define as love…He hung on a cross and died for the penalty that your sins carried. A love He simply and clearly asks us to now extend to all others.
I challenge you today to focus on just what it means to love Jesus through keeping His commandments. For you see, keeping the commandments of Jesus Christ will not go unnoticed in this world. Loving like Jesus will leave a mark on this world. Just a single, lonely spotlight pierces the perfect darkness, and the disciples of Jesus Christ can and will illuminate this dark world in the same way…when they love enough to walk in obedience to Jesus’ pure and perfect ways.
May you today love Christ in a way that sees you doing anything and everything to keep His ways ~ Blessings to you, Dan
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